Thank you for writing the story "Tech firms are less than
open about 'dark money'" (May 30). However, tech firms are
not the only ones who are less than open. Billionaires like
the Koch brothers and Foster Friess, presidential candidate
Rick Santorum's Super PAC financier, are spending millions
and remaining hidden in this election cycle. We need
disclosure from the biggest political spenders, whether
they're corporations, individuals or unions. We must work
to pass AB700 in California, the Disclose Act (Democracy Is
Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections),
co-authored by Assemblymen Marc Levine of Marin County and
Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles.
With AB700, we would see who actually pays for ballot
proposition ads, by mandating that the top three funders of
proposition campaigns disclose themselves clearly in the
ads themselves ??" unlike current disclosure policies that
let the largest funders hide behind small print and
innocuous-sounding committee names. The majority of the Bay
Area's state legislators are supporting AB700, as it is a
no-brainer legislation to pass to increase transparency in
the political process. Unfortunately, East Bay
Assemblywoman Catharine Baker has not. Why not?
Sergio Klor de Alva, Oakland
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