South Bay : Bowen Goes On-Line With Finance Report

Torrance’s assemblywoman is striking a blow for public access--or at least access to fellow Netwits.

Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Torrance), long a proponent of greater public access to government documents, is putting her campaign finance records on the Internet.

She is believed to be the first state lawmaker to go on-line with an itemization of her war chest. Last year, Bowen co-authored legislation requiring all state legislators to post their campaign financing on the Internet, but the measure died in committee.

“I’ve decided to lead by example,” said the second-term assemblywoman, who represents South Bay coastal areas from Venice to Torrance. She said the move will save constituents the hassle of traveling to the county registrar of voters office in Norwalk and spending “the better part of a day” retrieving the information on paper. “It makes it very hard for people to find out who’s contributing,” she said.

So now on the Net: Bowen received $39,500 in campaign contributions during the first half of the year. Carson-based Waste Management of Los Angeles was among the biggest contributors with $1,000.

To look for yourself: https://www.mother.com/Bowen.