An editorial in the Hartford Courant today complained that incumbent legislators are “wasting” over a million dollars in taxpayer funds on newsletter mailings to constituents when what the paper alleges they are actually doing is campaigning. The rules say that such mailers can’t be for the sole purpose of “conducting campaign business” and the Courant alleges that these newsletters all fall on if not over that line. But playing devil’s advocate isn’t hard either because as a voter, I want to hear from my elected official about what he or she is up to. I like knowing what bills he supports or opposes so that I can contact him with my concerns. Then, come election time, I can vote with some knowledge.
Some politicians are using the more cost-effective means of email and social media tools to get their voting record and positions across to the electorate. More should do so. But most voters are not ready to give up their email addresses to their political representatives. So if we want open government and transparency, we’ve got to pay to hear from the folks who speak for us at the state capitol.
Tags: campaign, electorate, Hartford Courant, open government, social media, transparency, voting record
