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Dear Editor:
I have to say, since I announced my candidacy, the response from family and friends has been amazing! Thank you all for your kind words of support and surprising generosity. The donations have all been simply that – donations with no expectations other than the desire to help me succeed. In fact, quite a few of you aren’t even Hamilton County residents – some not even Hoosiers!
So as a newbie I’ve learned a little about campaign finance rules and forms you have to file (there really aren’t that many). My niece, Jennifer Erner, immediately stepped up to help as the campaign treasurer too. Thanks so much Jenn for your time and talents with the finances!
I want to share with you some public information. Basically, all contributions and expenses are meticulously tracked and reported more or less quarterly.
Now here’s the fun part – the forms are all scanned and publicly posted. That’s right, anyone can see who has contributed money to your campaign and how you’ve spent the funds. You can have a look at your opponent and his cronies’ forms, so of course I did.
Here’s the link for Hamilton County Commissioners: secure2.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/CampaignFinance.
Browse the folders … the current county commissioners are Mark Heirbrandt (the incumbent for District 3), Christine Altman and Steve Dillinger.
When I looked deeper, I started noticing that the same 80 or so companies and individuals contributed rather large amounts to not just my opponent’s purse, but to the other two commissioners as well. Now why would these guys need to raise ~$100k per year, even in non-election years? Even when they’re running unopposed?
Perhaps the professions of the contributors are a clue – they’re mostly engineering, attorneys or insurance folks. When a civil engineering firm or pavement company makes big donations to your County Commissioners that have control over awarding contracts, it kind of makes your stomach churn (or at least mine did).
Here’s the thing, folks: Dan doesn’t roll that way. I’m in this for public service, not personal enrichment. Therefore, I will donate to charity any contributions to my campaign from anyone that has the potential to benefit materially from my commissioner decisions. (My favorite local non-profits are Family Promise and Open Doors.)
Also, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, I pledge to donate 50 percent of my commissioner’s salary to charity.
I haven’t seen any elected officials making personal sacrifices like this, have you?
Dan Montgomery
Democratic candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner, District 3