Follow the leader

Last week this newspaper apologized to Steve Bertagna, one of the three candidates for District 3 county supervisor, after we wrongly criticized him in an April 13 editorial, “A troubling failure,” for not submitting campaign disclosure forms by the March 22 deadline. It turned out that he had no campaign contributions during the reporting period and so had nothing to disclose.

This week we’d like to praise Bertagna. Although not required to do so, he has posted his list of contributors and their contribution amounts on his Web site, www.stevebertagna.com. It’s a service to voters, who need and deserve to know who’s backing him. We urge him to update the site regularly.

Besides, current state reporting deadlines are ineffective. The last of them before the election, May 25, covers only the period up to May 19. Any money received after that date—and most candidates get the bulk of their funds in the final weeks—doesn’t need to be reported until after the election, when it’s useless information for voters. We encourage other candidates to follow Bertagna’s lead.