VPAP Opens a Window into Money in Politics

In February, The Washington Post ran a headline across the top of its front page: "N.Va. is Banking on Beyer." The Post noted that the source of its investigation was a "computer-assisted analysis of state campaign finance records compiled in electronic form by the Virginia Public Access Project." In June, VPAP launched the nation's first searchable database of state campaign contributions. Style, an alternative weekly in Richmond, called it "as much fun as any video game. Just plug in any name you can think of and in seconds you'll find out how much money they have given to political candidates in Virginia."

With funding from the state's five largest newspapers, VPAP was conceived as a short-term demonstration "project" on how electronic campaign finance disclosure could work in Virginia. At the time, candidates disclosed their campaign donors on paper documents that for a statewide candidate could be as thick as a phone book. With a staff of one, VPAP faced the daunting task of keypunching and assigning a unique ID number to each of the tens of thousands of donation records. Our big break came when the Beyer campaign agreed to provide their reports in an Excel spreadsheet. The Gilmore campaign quickly got on board, which sped things up. Still, it took VPAP about two weeks after each filing deadline to process and post information. In those days, we partnered with Bob Holsworth and what was then called the VCU Center for Politics. Holsworth arranged for teams of students to keypunch the House of Delegates reports. When David Poole previewed the VPAP website for the House Privileges & Elections Committee that spring, Del. Kenneth Melvin, a Portsmouth Democrat (and now a judge), exclaimed, "I'm for disclosure, but this is too much!" But it was too late. The era of electronic disclosure had arrived.

Where are they now?

Jim Gilmore

Gilmore running for Governor in 1997.

Gilmore is the immediate past U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Gilmore’s signature plan ran into opposition from fellow Republicans in the State Senate. A compromise was passed that did not abolish the car tax, but sought to phase it out over five years. But it never happened. After the economic downtown following the 911 attacks, the legislature capped the reductions at $950 million a year. Car taxes are now lower for most people, but to Gilmore’s chagrin, reports of the car tax’s demise were premature. Gilmore has never held office again, despite a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2008 and two unsuccessful bids for the GOP presidential nomination. In 2018, President Trump appointed Gilmore to represent the United States on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a position that carries the rank of ambassador. He served two years in the post. Gilmore now runs a boutique government affairs firm.

Don Beyer

Beyer running for Governor in 1997.

Beyer now represents Virginia's 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Beyer lost so soundly that, at 47, his career as an elected official appeared to be behind him. He returned to the family’s car dealership in Northern Virginia. He continued to raise money and be involved in Democratic politics. In 2007, Beyer was one of the first Virginia politicians to endorse an obscure first-term U.S. Senator from Illinois. Later, President Obama tapped Beyer as ambassador to Switzerland. In 2014, Beyer seized an opportunity to run for Congress after U.S. Rep. Jim Moran announced he would not seek re-election. Beyer captured nearly half of the vote in a seven-way Democratic primary and has never been seriously challenged in a deep-blue district that includes Arlington and Alexandria. From his home in Old Town Alexandria, Beyer enjoys the shortest commute of any member of Congress.

Image Sources: Friends of Don Beyer, C-SPAN, vtx.vt.edu, Steve Helber / AP, Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images, USOSCE / Gower