Understanding the Importance of Campaign Finance Reports
Reading through campaign-finance reports filed by politicians isn’t nearly as unpleasant as, say, DIY septic-tank repair.
It’s not far behind, however.
But for those who care about how public money gets spent, it’s instructive to know who’s greasing who and how much dough changes hands.
Lists of donors — still required by law — offer clues about the potential payoffs.
The Dark Side of Politics: A Case Study
Nothing is given for free, not in the United States, where campaign cash is king and influence and access to politicians doesn’t come cheap.
That’s what drove Dan Rose, a passionate advocate for those with the least, to pore over reports filed by members of the Winston-Salem City Council and Mayor Allen Joines.
And one of the things he discovered — donations to an organization run by the mayor’s wife that teaches yoga to children — landed with all the subtlety of a rotten egg during a public hearing Monday night.
‘Pay to play’
“I did check out the other eight council members. You all are clean,” Rose said. “And that’s cool.”
When it came to Mayor Joines’ quarterly reports, Rose took umbrage. He noted that two father and son donors with ties to Front Street Capital had each given $2,000 to the mayor’s campaign.
Which, by the way, has pulled in more than $124,000 since January 1, 2023.
Compared to the stacks that change hands at the state and federal level, that’s couch change. But for little old Winston-Salem and a mayor who hasn’t faced significant opposition in two decades, it stands out.
“Plain and simple, it’s pay-to-play politics…. $4,000 is barely the cost of a 2005 Honda Accord but that’s what it costs to get on Council’s agenda,” Rose thundered.
The next item that Rose mentioned, the yoga donation, was a bit more … personal.
“I’d like to point out from your (Joines’) year-end filing in 2024 that you donated over $10,000 from your campaign to your wife’s yoga studio,” Rose said. “The corruption here is so brazen.”
Yes and no. Like most everything else in politics, it’s more complicated than that.
Yes, the mayor stroked two checks, one for $5,000 and a second for $5,600, last year for “community support” of something called Breathing Access, which according to public records filed with the N.C. Secretary of State, shares an address with the Breathing Room, a yoga studio owned by Suzy McCalley, the mayor’s wife.
It looks — and smells — funny, right? And it’s not the first time Joines has chipped off some campaign cash for yoga, either.
But here’s the rub: the donations are legal.
Criticism comes with the job
Per state law and N.C. Board of Elections spokesman Pat Gannon, candidates can use campaign money to support political parties and other candidates — it’s how they accumulate power and wield influence over their peers — and may donate to certain charities.
And because Breathing Access is a registered nonprofit, it appears to qualify.
By law it’s no different than sponsoring a Little League team or donating to Meals on Wheels.
The mission of Breathing Access, per records open to public inspection, is “to teach yoga and mindfulness in Title One schools.”
Its 2022 Form 99tax return, the most recent available, shows that Breathing Access reported total revenue of $59,949 and lists courses and programs at Carver High, Winston-Salem Prep and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools human-resources department as program accomplishments.
Breathing Access has offered programs to inmates at the county jail, too.
(Despite what it sounds like, teaching yoga to kids isn’t as goofy as some might think. Showing children ways to deal with frustration and anger other than tossing desks or having meltdowns seems like a good thing.)
Still, it’s not difficult to understand why an activist frustrated by the slow (or no) pace of overdue repairs to public housing would notice the donations — and call them out in a public forum.
Joines, too, as long as he was at it. And the criticism found its mark.
“It’s the wrong context to say I was giving money to a yoga studio,” he said Tuesday. “It’s a nonprofit associated with the studio.”
Getting ripped isn’t new for a guy who has served as mayor since 2001. A thick hide is practically a job requirement.
“It doesn’t necessarily roll off my back,” Joines said. “But having this position in a lot of ways makes you fair game.”
The Yoga Donation: A Complex Issue
The yoga donation was a bit more … personal.
“I’d like to point out from your (Joines’) year-end filing in 2024 that you donated over $10,000 from your campaign to your wife’s yoga studio,” Rose said. “The corruption here is so brazen.”
Yes, the mayor stroked two checks, one for $5,000 and a second for $5,600, last year for “community support” of something called Breathing Access, which according to public records filed with the N.C. Secretary of State, shares an address with the Breathing Room, a yoga studio owned by Suzy McCalley, the mayor’s wife.
It looks — and smells — funny, right?
And it’s not the first time Joines has chipped off some campaign cash for yoga, either.
But here’s the rub: the donations are legal.
Criticism comes with the job
Per state law and N.C.
