Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements
	The authors owe a debt of gratitude to the unsung heroes and heroines who administer campaign disclosure laws throughout the country. They provided valuable information for this report and an education to its authors. We thank in particular the staffs of disclosure agencies in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, New York City, Ohio, San Francisco, Washington, Wisconsin and the Federal Election Commission for personally walking us through their operations. Much appreciation also goes to those who took part in the lively roundtable exchange on bringing campaign disclosure operations into the computer age. Kent Cooper, the FEC's director of public records, contributed ideas and direction to our work. FEC computer guru Bob Biersack patiently instructed us on the finer points of designing a disclosure database system that supplies the best computerized information possible. Carole Campolo of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Jeff Garfield of the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, and Melissa Warheit of the Washington Public Disclosure Commission gave helpful feedback on our recommendations. We are also grateful for the invaluable assistance of our colleagues at the Center for Responsive Politics. Research Associate Maya C. Gibson was an integral part of the project's team. Jill Ebersol, Elizabeth Hagevig, and Stephanie Limb carefully researched the details of 50 state laws. We thank Jackie Duobinis for explaining the wonders of a campaign database from a researcher's perspective and Jay Youngclaus for helping us evaluate campaign reporting software from agencies that have pioneered in electronic filing. Margaret Engle shepherded the book through production; Bobbi Kittner designed the cover, and Kathy Cashel was responsible for the layout. Josh Rosenthal provided administrative support. Special thanks go to the Center's Executive Director, Ellen Miller, who conceived the idea of developing a campaign disclosure model and to Deputy Director Larry Makinson, a worthy champion of using computer technology to follow the money. The work was carried out by the Center's FEC Watch project.

Acknowledgements

The authors owe a debt of gratitude to the unsung heroes and heroines who administer campaign disclosure laws throughout the country. They provided valuable information for this report and an education to its authors. We thank in particular the staffs of disclosure agencies in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, New York City, Ohio, San Francisco, Washington, Wisconsin and the Federal Election Commission for personally walking us through their operations. Much appreciation also goes to those who took part in the lively roundtable exchange on bringing campaign disclosure operations into the computer age.

Kent Cooper, the FEC's director of public records, contributed ideas and direction to our work. FEC computer guru Bob Biersack patiently instructed us on the finer points of designing a disclosure database system that supplies the best computerized information possible. Carole Campolo of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Jeff Garfield of the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, and Melissa Warheit of the Washington Public Disclosure Commission gave helpful feedback on our recommendations.

We are also grateful for the invaluable assistance of our colleagues at the Center for Responsive Politics. Research Associate Maya C. Gibson was an integral part of the project's team. Jill Ebersol, Elizabeth Hagevig, and Stephanie Limb carefully researched the details of 50 state laws. We thank Jackie Duobinis for explaining the wonders of a campaign database from a researcher's perspective and Jay Youngclaus for helping us evaluate campaign reporting software from agencies that have pioneered in electronic filing. Margaret Engle shepherded the book through production; Bobbi Kittner designed the cover, and Kathy Cashel was responsible for the layout. Josh Rosenthal provided administrative support.

Special thanks go to the Center's Executive Director, Ellen Miller, who conceived the idea of developing a campaign disclosure model and to Deputy Director Larry Makinson, a worthy champion of using computer technology to follow the money. The work was carried out by the Center's FEC Watch project.