Common Cause laid off the executive director of its Vermont chapter, Wally Roberts, last week.
Roberts, who was on the job for 17 months, led the effort to create a searchable database of campaign finance contributions to Vermont representatives, senators and statewide officeholders. He also lobbied in the Statehouse for campaign finance disclosure reform.
The database put Common Cause on the map in Vermont, Roberts says. Data from the 2010 election was collected and formatted last year, and this year the chapter created a searchable 2012 campaign finance database that is available to the public.
James Browning, a regional director for Common Cause based in Philadelphia, said the nonprofit group is re-examining its strategy in Vermont and whether it needs to continue to have paid staff in Vermont.
Roberts’ campaign finance database work was very important, Browning said, but the chapter needed to raise more money and build a stronger network of business leaders and legislative leaders who care about reforming the campaign finance system.
Vermont is the only state, for example, that doesn’t have an ethics law requiring lawmakers to disclose financial conflicts of interest.
The budget for the Vermont chapter is $80,000 a year. Roberts raised about 20 percent of the total; the rest came from the national office. More recently, fundraising for Common Cause has been a challenge nationwide, but the Citizens United decision, Browning said, has been “a wake up call” for donors and is beginning to galvanize contributors.
