The good-government group Common Cause of Vermont has set up a database of campaign contributions made to candidates in the state during the 2010 election cycle, and it’s urging the state to do something similar.
Wally Robert is executive director of the group’s Vermont chapter, and says Vermont is behind many other states because it lacks a searchable online database that allows people to see easily which candidates are getting how much money and from what sorts of groups.
Roberts says a record amount was spent on the 2010 gubernatorial campaign between Democrat Peter Shumlin and former Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.
He says the current campaign finance system, in which candidates’ raw reports are posted on the secretary of state’s website, make tracking and comparing the money difficult.