Ad war winners take governors’ mansions

Nearly all of the governors elected Tuesday dominated the airwaves in TV ads before voters went to the polls, bolstered by their campaign war chests and outside groups that advertised on their behalf. Candidates outspent on TV ads won in only seven of the 32 races called as of early Wednesday. However, in six of…

Continue Reading

DC’s Council holds unique power

An investigation by WAMU and the Investigative Reporting Workshop identified more than $5 million in political contributions from more than 300 businesses that have contracts with the District. Nearly $1 out of every $5 that current Council members’ campaigns have received came from a firm seeking a city contract. Unlike the District, the federal government…

Continue Reading

Land of sun and political ads

The race to occupy the Florida governor’s mansion is among the most expensive state-level contests in the country this year, with roughly $31.8 million spent through September 8 on 64,000 television ads. But the campaign committees of incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger and former Gov. Charlie Crist are responsible for less than 4 percent…

Continue Reading

How cozy can candidates be with political groups?

The criminal investigation into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s collaboration with independent political groups has been making national headlines, but in certain other states, such a relationship would barely raise an eyebrow. Prosecutors in multiple counties have been investigating whether Walker, a potential GOP presidential candidate, illegally coordinated with a slew of independent conservative nonprofits leading up…

Continue Reading

Donors, friends of governors often get state court nod

Judicial elections are frequently criticized for allowing high-rolling campaign donors to influence the judges deciding major cases — but the judicial appointment process is no panacea either. According to a Center for Public Integrity investigation, appointments to the states’ top courts are often based on who you know at least as much as on what…

Continue Reading

Education groups battle teachers unions in state races

Education groups battle teachers unions in state races

The Center for Public Integrity StudentsFirst — created by former Washington, D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee — is leading a new wave of “education reform” organizations, funded largely by wealthy donors, that are challenging teachers’ unions and supporting mostly conservative candidates up and down the ticket in dozens of states. These groups promote charter schools,…

Continue Reading

Issue ad or political ad? You be the judge

Issue ad or political ad? You be the judge

The Center for Public Integrity Less than a month before a school board race in Douglas County, Colo., the Koch-funded nonprofit Americans for Prosperity said it spent $350,000 on ads backing a conservative slate of candidates. Yet no public records exist of the spending. Read the story here.

Continue Reading

Do senators fear the Internet?

Do senators fear the Internet?

The Center for Public Integrity Despite millions in potential cost savings to taxpayers, the U.S. Senate has still yet to pass a requirement that it file campaign finance reports electronically. By Friday, presidential candidates, House candidates, political action committees and super PACs must file their fourth-quarter financial reports with the Federal Election Commission electronically. Senate…

Continue Reading

Koch-backed group gives big to Cuccinelli in Virginia

Koch-backed group gives big to Cuccinelli in Virginia

The Center for Public Integrity Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has raked in millions from out-of-state donors while at the same time hammering Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe for doing the same, campaign finance records show. Cuccinelli has received $8.1 million — more than 40 percent of funds raised by his campaign since Jan. 1…

Continue Reading

The Chosen Charter

The Chosen Charter

Washington City Paper At Sela, whose name is Hebrew for rock or foundation, school days will alternate between Hebrew and English. In math, for example, students will learn how to add and subtract in English one day, and the next day they’ll pick up where they left off in Hebrew. Language immersion programs aren’t new…

Continue Reading