A quick preview

I had originally intended to begin an investigation of sorts tonight but the initial step in the process took longer than I thought it would. So let me tell you where I’m going.

On Wednesday I alerted you to how much the various candidates for governor had available to their campaigns with the exception of Anthony Brown and Doug Gansler, whose reports came in last and weren’t ready yet at the time I put my piece to bed. But they are both complete now, and I chose to begin this next phase with the 523-page behemoth that is Anthony Brown’s 2013 campaign finance report.

So what am I looking for? I think this is a great opportunity to compare and contrast from where various candidates receive their money. Since there has been some controversy about the function of LLCs and limited partnerships as a means of producing extra contributions beyond the state-prescribed individual limits of $4,000 per candidate and $10,000 overall per four-year cycle, I thought it might be useful to see how much of each person’s take comes from these groups.

I also like to see how much legal firms contribute. Although it’s not an exact science – since I don’t know every lawyer in Maryland and many donate fron their personal accounts rather than as a firm – I have a suspicion how the Maryland legal community leans in the race and wanted to check my findings.

And while most of the labor union contributions come from various PACs, which are covered under their own section, some are within the itemized individual contributions which comprise much of most reports. Businesses are also covered under this umbrella, and it bears a look into where businesses are sending their dollars.

Finally, as far as contributions are concerned, I’ve heard the rumblings that much of one person’s take in the race is coming from outside Maryland. So why not see whether this is true or not? Once I drill down into some local races I’m interested in, the question could be that of how much comes from outside his or her area.

As I mentioned on top, I’m probably about 2/3 of the way through Anthony Brown’s voluminous report, and I hope to get through it yet tonight to write about tomorrow or Tuesday. Since he has the most cash on hand, he could serve as a yardstick with which to compare other candidates.

So that’s something to look forward to in the next few weeks. Now I have work to do.

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