Sangamon County Online
There are a couple things I've been meaning to write relating to online county government but I keep finding other things to write about when I have the time to blog.
Not long after my last post about open government, newly appointed county board member Jennifer Dillman mailed a questionnaire to her new constituents. The mailing was paid for by the Sangamon County Board Republican Election Committee. In their last report with the Illinois Board of Elections they reported $20,820 in itemized contributions, of which $20,000 came from Board Chairman Andy Van Meter.
Dillman's survey included a question asking if videos of county board meetings should be available online. She also has a website. Its nice to see someone on the board embrace web-based communication.
Showing county board meetings online is a good idea but I would call it an icing on the cake measure when we still don't have the cake. Showing meetings on public access television would reach more people than those who have high-speed internet access.
Also, it only allows people to view what's being done after its too late to participate. I don't think anyone is going to rush out of their house to the county board meeting before it ends to speak up about something they see online.
If the county wants to use the internet to involve people, rather than merely informing them after the fact, they should put the committee meeting agendas, minutes and proposed ordinances online. That will give people an easier way to find out what's going on before an issue goes to the full county board for a final vote.
It looks like Dillman is willing to work so I won't be surprised to see her run for election to her seat. Her principle previous experience is working for John "See No Evil" Shimkus so I'm sure she'll have strong support.
Candidate Petitions
The State Journal Register re-ran an old story about the County Clerk putting petitions for candidates online when they covered the story about write-in votes that weren't counted in the SMEAA election. Along with petitions, the Clerk also included other documents that were previously included in the packet of materials given to those planning to run for office. I've noticed the election office gradually putting more information online over time, such as the list of precincts included in legislative districts. They aren't putting as much online as quickly as I would, but its always good to see progress.
There's one aspect of putting candidate information online that Schoenburg probably didn't think was important enough to include in his article. In past elections, a potential candidate would come to the election office to pick up the packet of materials and sign in their name along with the office they planned to run for. If that list of names wasn't legally public information, it was at least treated as such for those who knew it existed.
That meant candidates could find out if anyone was planning to run against them and party leaders could keep track of non-establishment candidates who were circulating petitions. I'm sure the list was also helpful for reporters like Schoenburg as well.
One function of political parties is to attempt uniting support behind a party candidate and discourage divisive challenges that drain party resources. And in some party organizations that means ensuring candidates running for an office that can likely be won come from their own dominant faction within the party. Having access to a list of everyone considering a run for any office makes it a little easier for party leaders to contact and discourage maverick candidates before they turn in their petitions to get on the ballot.
Having candidate documents online makes it a little bit easier for an outsider candidate not allied with the leaders of either party to get farther along in the process of collecting ballot petition signatures before the local political establishment knows what they're doing.
Whether this will make any practical difference, I don't know. Most candidates contact the leaders of their party when they first consider a run for office, and someone can still be pressured to remove their name from the ballot after they turn in their petitions. But since there might be a few political junkies reading this blog who find that sort of change interesting...there you go.