Who opposes disclosure?

Who opposes disclosure?


Thank you for your editorial "Fuller disclosure" (June 1) urging the state Assembly to continue to advance SB52 (the California Disclose Act) after its passage through the Senate. I couldn't agree more.

Voters need to know, when they see or hear a political ad, who the top three funders of that ad really are. An informed electorate is essential to a functioning democracy.

One thing stopped me, though. You called the Senate voting results curiously close for a bill without a single listed official opponent. But that's the point of such a measure. Of course opponents of disclosure in political advertising don't want to be listed anywhere. I suspect that the opposing of SB52 has been done behind closed doors, promising or threatening who-knows-what to legislators despite overwhelming support for disclosure among said legislators' constituents. These are the same big-money political donors who hide behind a fake but nice-sounding committee name like Stop Hidden Taxes when trying to influence voters with advertising.

Joni Eisen, San Francisco