Dear Charlottesville City Council,

It is very disquieting that practically half of the total money being spent on the current City Council election campaign has come from one developer who has a major regulatory issue pending before Council. There is no way that the diverse needs and interests (and limited resources) of the public can compete with the focused agenda of a large corporation that can write off any size political contributions as a cost of doing business for the accomplishment of a particular development.

It is my hope that any present or future council members who have benefited from this extraordinary expenditure would publicly stand aside from any debate or votes regarding that corporation. 

Thank you for your consideration,

Hal Noakes (electronc mail, May 1, 2000)

If you have comments about the relationship between campaign financing and special interests or about the proper use of PAC money in local campaigns, send them to george@loper.org and the most representative will be posted with full attribution.