It has been two days since we emailed No Boss Mayor for their financial information. Still no replies. As you may remember, No Boss Mayor sent out a press release on Monday, November 2 with a draft of their first campaign finance report, which wasn’t due until Nov. 6. Since then, No Boss Mayor has had, at least, two automated phone calls and two mailers, none of which are included in the Nov. 6 report. That campaign report only showed they had $2,275 available to spend – not nearly enough to pay for these campaign items.
For the past 10 days, No Boss Mayor has cut off the flow of information about their finances. Money is being spent, but the voters aren’t being told where it is coming from. Believe in a Better Pensacola, the pro charter side, has released to the media its daily deposits.
Why is this even an issue? Because No Boss Mayor wanted it to be an issue. In the Nov. 2 press release, No Boss Mayor stated:
It is often very instructional to see who is supporting or opposing an idea and how deep their pocketbook support runs. This issue has two clear sides. We believe voters deserve the right to know who is behind each side before the ballots are in their hands. We have shown who is supporting our No Boss Mayor Campaign.
Why has No Boss Mayor stopped showing the voters who is supporting them? At the first of the month, it was important. Now it’s not. Where is the moral and ethical consistency? If No Boss Mayor truly believed that the voters should know the finances of both sides of this controversial issue, then daily financial reports shouldn’t be an issue. They should be leading the way, not following the other side.
Even if you don’t agree with the charter, you have to agree that No Boss Mayor has a moral obligation to release their financial information. After all, they started the demand for transparency.