You may have read my opinion piece in the June Edition of Senior Spectrum. If so, you remember that I am promoting voluntary background checks for political candidates. They may review them and if they choose, share them publicly on my website. This is a nonpartisan effort and there is no vetting, editing of reports, commenting or ads. Since background checks are not required to run for office, Transparency In Politics offers the only viable solution.

I must say that I am very surprised that to date the only candidate in Nevada who has shared their background check on transparencyinpolitics.info is Kristopher Dahir. He is a two-term Sparks City Council Member up for re-election. The question that haunts me is WHY is he the only one? Why are candidates so resistant to disclosing their criminal history and having a resume verification?

Of course, voters will draw their own conclusions about candidates’ refusal to share their history, but here are some explanations I’ve gotten from candidates and their campaign managers:

• It might give the opposition ammunition. (Their opposition is digging on them every day anyway-at the background check report is verified facts.)
• It’s not required-candidates only do what’s required.
• The Transparency In Politics poll is unscientific. (It shows that an overwhelming majority (97%) of people would be more likely to vote for a candidate who was WILLING to share their background check. They are not convinced that sharing their background check and getting a seal signifying that would help them.
• My favorite is this: “Candidates go through enough-we shouldn’t ask them to jump through more hoops.” WOW! Walmart makes employees go through a lot to get a minimum wage job!

Here is my conclusion: Maybe they aren’t convinced that it’s worth the time and money to order a background check and share the report. Maybe a scientific study would convince them…. maybe. Maybe then they would understand that voters want this kind of transparency.

But what I believe is that the candidates do not want the voters asking too many questions. I can’t tell you how many candidates will not post an email address, much less a phone number. Just read my mailer, check out my website, listen to my commercials and vote for me. Take everything I say as fact-trust me!

Informed voters are really not what most candidates want-they just want votes. So, what to do? The power is with the voters. Contact candidates and let them know you want real transparency, not just words on their mailers. A list of many candidates in Clark and Washoe counties is on our site. Go to transparencyinpolitics.info/take-action. You’ll also find a sample email you can send.

It’s up to the voters. Speak up. Make wise choices when you vote. Get the facts. Many nonpartisan resources are on our site. It’s very hard to get rid of an elected official once they are in office If you choose unwisely, we will be stuck with bad officials for a very long time!

Jody Baden (AKA Ruggiero) is a former Washoe County School District Trustee who lives in Reno. She is the Founder and CEO of Transparency In Politics (TransparencyInPolitics.info) and works to bring voter confidence to our political process through verified background checks for political candidates.