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CAMPAIGN CASH: It's on the Web: Who gave what
to whom
April 12, 2004
BY JULIE HINDS
FREE PRESS STAFF
WRITER
Want to know how much money your neighbors have given to
presidential candidates? The Web site Fundrace 2004 is out to tell
you in a lively, user-friendly way.
But some local donors worry it's too nosy and may even discourage
people from giving.
At http://www.fundrace.org/, you
can enter a street address and ZIP code to generate a list of
presidential campaign contributors who live nearby.
Or you can type in a first and last name to check on a relative,
coworker or celebrity.
Some famous names that pop up on the site? Microsoft Corp.
Chairman Bill Gates (he gave $2,000 to President George W. Bush) and
actor Ben Affleck ($2,000 to retired Gen. Wesley Clark and $1,000 to
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio).
The site also reveals well-known metro Detroiters who have opened
their wallets.
Entrepreneur La-Van Hawkins is listed for giving $2,000 to U.S.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and $1,000 to U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt,
D-Mo. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is there for giving $1,250
to Bush. Lawyer Geoffrey Fieger turns up for giving $2,000 to U.S.
Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
Several donors say they don't mind being mentioned on Fundrace,
because they know federal campaign-finance law requires the
disclosure of such contributions.
Yet some of them aren't thrilled that the site reveals full
addresses of donors.
"That, I kind of have a problem with," says Kimberlie Thomas of
Dearborn Heights, a professional pet-sitter who gave $300 to
Edwards.
Otherwise, Thomas says she finds Fundrace's neighbor search
intriguing.
"Sometimes I kind of feel alone in my neighborhood and want to
know if any other Democrats are around," she jokes.
Roger Holtslander, a pizza delivery driver from Clinton Township
who gave $100 to the campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean,
says the site is a good idea, but there's no need to include where
donors live.
"People should be able to get on there and find out who's giving
money," Holtslander says. "The name and city is fine, but the street
address isn't necessary."
Some people say they think Fundrace may make those in the public
eye think twice before contributing to candidates.
"It would discourage people like me -- high-profile people who
don't want their addresses revealed -- from giving," Fieger says.
Essentially, Fundrace is a catchy repackaging of public
information that's already available online through the Federal
Election Commission (FEC).
Fundrace's facts and figures are based on records filed with the
FEC on contributions totaling more than $200 made by individuals to
a single campaign between Jan. 1, 2003, and Feb. 29.
Federal law requires candidates to identify individuals who give
them more than $200 in an election cycle. The maximum contribution
for an individual is $2,000 per candidate per election.
Other Web sites offer similar ways to track political donations,
but they're usually visited by serious policy wonks and journalists.
Fundrace is trying to draw browsers with a fun approach. Its main
page shows cartoonish images of Bush and Kerry driving race cars
spewing dollar signs.
The project was started last fall by Eyebeam, a New York-based
nonprofit high-tech/arts group. Mike Frumin, the 25-year-old creator
of the site, describes it as an experiment in making public
information easier to obtain.
In mid-March, the site launched neighborhood searches to lend a
personal feeling to campaign finance, says Jonah Peretti, 30,
director of research and development at Eyebeam.
"People can relate to a neighborhood," Peretti says. "They can
test their own stereotypes."
Frumin says they've received some complaints about the site.
"Whether or not this information should be public, it is. At the
very least, we've been able to raise people's awareness that this
information isn't private."
Says Peretti, "When people complain and say they don't want to be
on the list, they're saying, 'I want to influence politics, but I
want to do it anonymously.' "
Some metro Detroit donors on the list say they are all for
shedding light on the role of money in elections.
"I think disclosure is far more important than limiting amounts,"
says Peter Fletcher, head of Ypsilanti Republicans and a veteran GOP
supporter, who's listed for giving $2,000 to Bush. "If you're going
to be giving money to affect an election, privacy is out the
window."
Dennis Archer Jr., national sales manager for Radio One and son
of former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, says he wasn't surprised his
$2,000 donation to the Rev. Al Sharpton turned up on such a site.
"The way technology has evolved, you'd expect it," he says. "You
can Google search anyone."
Tim Bannister, a marketing consultant who works in Southfield,
says he is comfortable with his business address and $100 donation
to Dean appearing on Fundrace.
"I'm probably one of five registered Democrats in Birmingham and
I tell everybody I'm a Democrat," Bannister says.
A site called Opensecrets.org has offered ZIP code and name
searches since 1996. It's run by the Washington, D.C.-based Center
for Responsive Politics, whose mission is to educate the public
about the role of money in politics.
Opensecrets doesn't include street addresses of donors, both for
privacy reasons and to prevent other politicians or groups from
using them to solicit money.
"Just because information is public doesn't necessarily mean it's
appropriate for a Web site," says Robert Ellis Smith, a privacy
advocate and publisher of Privacy Journal, a consumer-oriented
newsletter.
Smith advises political donors to use business addresses or post
office boxes, not home addresses.
Some donors are doing that already. For example, Fundrace shows a
Renaissance Center address for General Motors Corp. Chief Executive
Officer G. Richard Wagoner, who gave $2,000 to Bush.
"I'm still trying to figure out the social ramifications of this
site, what it's good for except curiosity," Smith says. "Tracking by
address and, especially, map, I don't see any social value to that."
Still, Fundrace is kind of amusing, Smith allows.
"It's great for idle browsing," he says.
Contact JULIE HINDS at 313-222-6427 or hinds@freepress.com.
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