By Rebecca Walsh
The Salt Lake Tribune
Evan Day is a bad example of the power of political
money.
A 21-year-old physics student at the
University of Utah, Day is passionate, but he has shallow pockets. He
wants to give $100 to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry -- but
he has to earn the money first. Maybe he'll send $25 installments.
Many political candidates wouldn't even bother to
ask for Day's check.
Still, you can find his $8
donation to one-time presidential hopeful Al Sharpton on a new Web site of
political contributors -- http://www.fundrace.org/ -- right
along with members of Utah's powerful Huntsman family, Envirocare owner
Khosrow Semnani, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and Utah Jazz center
Greg Ostertag.
"I really respected what he was
doing. Not that he was running for president, but he was trying to raise
minority voter turnout," says Day, who split his $20 between Sharpton and
retired U.S. General Wesley Clark.
"I enjoyed
having Sharpton around as long as possible. I didn't give much money. But
it seemed to me that money was everything."
That's
the point the Web site's creators are trying to make. Using each
presidential candidate's financial disclosure forms for the past year,
researchers created a database of donors. Then, using donor addresses,
researchers set up a search mechanism that pinpoints the political
leanings of American neighborhoods by city and ZIP code. Residents of Los
Angeles and New York can find out which apartment buildings lean
politically left and which lean right.
The plan is
to use Americans' voyeuristic tendencies to highlight the role of money in
elections. With the click of a mouse, Web site visitors can peek into
their neighbors' political checkbooks.
Advertisement
"You want to know if one
candidate is getting support mostly from investment bankers and another is
getting support from lawyers. It tells you a lot about a candidate," says
Jonah Peretti, research and development director for Eyebeam, a
technology-oriented, nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn and
Manhattan. "It's a way to get people thinking about the influence that
money has on politics."
Peretti's high-minded goal
may be optimistic. For many who hit the Web site, baser instincts may take
over. Just knowing, for example, that former Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee
Corradini gave Democratic candidate Howard Dean $250 for his now-defunct
campaign, may be more important than knowing why. The fact that Zions Bank
CEO Scott Anderson gave President Bush $1,000 or former Utah Supreme Court
Chief Justice Michael Zimmerman gave $500 to Dean might confirm the two
men's political philosophies.
And appeasing
Americans' curiosity about their neighbors raises questions about privacy.
Home addresses are listed. As Day says, "I don't like being on the grid."
Salt Lake City resident Deb Sawyer was surprised to
learn the $2,000 donations she and her husband sent to a handful of
Democratic presidential hopefuls -- every candidate opposed to the war in
Iraq -- can be quickly accessed online. But the advocate for campaign
finance reform in Salt Lake City says open government is more important
than anonymity.
"While in some ways, this is a
violation of my privacy, government needs to be transparent," Sawyer says.
"It needs to be public information."
Linda Hunt,
former associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's southern
California chapter and a past member of the Utah ACLU board, admits she's
torn between her own interest in the donations and her worries about
intrusion. She's already searched her Avenues neighborhood. Based on her
research, she figures the Democrats live west of Virginia Street;
Republicans live in the Federal Heights neighborhoods east of that line of
demarcation.
"I was just fascinated by it. But I
was kind of alarmed by it. It still kind of remains a little bit Big
Brotherish in my mind," says Hunt. "It would cause me to think very hard
about giving any amount that would show up. On the other hand, I'm always
happy to know that my neighbors are supporting George Bush."
Peretti notes that all the information on
fundrace.org is public under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform
law Congress passed last year. The Web site includes a statement
explaining the law. Still, Peretti has fielded half a dozen complaints
from donors who believe the site violates their privacy.
"If you want to influence the political process,
you have to give up some privacy," he says.
Zimmerman agrees. "I'm not going to take out a billboard," he said. But
"if I donate money, I'm fair game."
How much they gave and to whom
$2,000
* Bruce Bastian, Word Perfect founder: Howard Dean,
John Kerry
* Jon Huntsman, billionaire
industrialist: President Bush
* Karl Malone, L.A.
Laker: Bush
* Greg Ostertag, Jazz center: Bush
* Khosrow Semnani, owner of Envirocare Utah: Bush
* Mark Shurtleff, Utah attorney general: Bush
$500
*
Karen Shepherd, former U.S. congresswoman: Dean
*
Vicki Varela, ex-Gov. Mike Leavitt spokeswoman: Bush
$250
*
Rocky Anderson, SLC mayor: Dean
* Deedee Corradini,
former SLC mayor: Dean
Not found:
Gov. Olene Walker
House
Spearker Marty Stephens
Sen. Bob Bennett
Sen. Orrin Hatch
U.S. Rep. Rob
Bishop
U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson
LDS
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley
LDS Church First
Counselor Thomas S. Monson
LDS Church Second
Counselor James E. Faust
