Oakland County, Michigan, July 17, 2007 –- Campaign contribution reports for Oakland County candidates and committees are now available online for public review, announced Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.

“This was a priority for me – transparency and openness in government are crucial to Democracy and lead to greater accountability,” Johnson said. “Our new Campaign Finance Reporting system will allow users and the media to see who is making donations to local, school and county political candidates as well as political committees filed with Oakland County’s Election Division.”

The system was designed by Consulting Engineering Associates, a Michigan company. Computer users can access the campaign finance records on the Clerk/Register of Deeds website  and print copies from the convenience of their own homes. Previously, anyone who wanted to examine campaign finance records had to come to the Oakland County Election Division and stand at the counter.

“We understand online beats standing in line,” Johnson said. A second phase of the new Campaign Finance Reporting system, currently in development, will allow candidates and committees to file their reports online.

The new system will allow users to explore campaign finance records dating back to 2005 and any filed going forward. Earlier records may still be viewed at the Oakland County Clerk’s Election Division, 1200 N. Telegraph in Pontiac.

Johnson has long been a proponent of government office holders being held accountable to the people they serve. As a state representative, she exposed unethical business practices at the Oakland Intermediate School District. She served as chairperson of a Michigan House of Representatives committee charged with investigating ISDs, and was given the rare privilege of subpoena power to access information.

Later, Johnson sponsored a package of bills to promote transparency and accountability in government. Johnson demonstrated the new Campaign Finance Reporting System to members of the media on Tuesday.

"Governments have a responsibility to those they serve," Johnson said. "The public has a right to access information, to be more informed when they exercise their right to vote, to have their voice heard. With openness in government, everybody wins."

Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, a political scientist and associate professor of political science at Wayne State University, was excited by the new service. She regularly requires her students to review campaign finance records to help them learn about the political system.

"I’m a real fan of let’s disclose everything,” Sarbaugh-Thompson said. “We need lots of people involved in the process and lots of eyes on the system. There was a Supreme Court justice who said it best: ‘Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”