By Grayson Banning, contributor
With the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election less than three weeks away, the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project (or VPAP for short) will again be a frequently used tool for Virginias who are trying to do their homework on candidates before going to vote.
VPAP has been tracking candidates and their campaign fundraising and spending for nearly 30 years and has expanded to display information about other aspects of state government, such as connections between industries and legislation and the redrawing of district maps.
The founder of VPAP, David Poole, established the organization in 1997 as desktop computers became increasingly prevalent. Before VPAP, financial documents from candidates were all on paper and some of them were “barely legible,” as he put it. VPAP solved this issue by creating an online database in which viewers can see who’s giving money to what political candidates.
After 25 years of leading VPAP, Poole decided to leave. The organization hired Chris Piper as the next leader but kept on Poole for six more months. During that time, the board chair suggested that Poole write a book on the history of VPAP.
“Nothing inspires a book like a generous severance,” Poole said.
In the original draft of his book “Trusted Source: How a Virginia Nonprofit Gained Bipartisan Support in an Era of Political Polarization,” Poole wrote the story like a traditional organizational history. He then showed his work to Nadine Zimmerli, an editor from the University of Virginia Press. After reviewing his work, she recommended that Poole build the book around the idea of building trust. Poole rewrote the book to make trust the prevalent theme.
Trust has become VPAP’s biggest asset in a world where people are increasingly skeptical, Poole said.
“The world in the 25 years I ran VPAP, the world changed into a point where people have a hard time believing anything that doesn’t fit squarely with their own ideas of reality,” he said.
In addition to money in politics, VPAP has added information about legislation, lobbying, and other data sets so the viewer can get a 360-degree view on the “basic facts” about Virginia politics, he said.
“Trusted Source is the name of the book which I think accurately describes VPAP,” Poole said.
The book, which charts VPAPs efforts to shine a light on who is donating to political candidates and how much they’re giving, is particularly relevant during a statewide election year.
“The audience interested in politics kind of expands exponentially right before a governor’s race, so I think a book about politics is timely,” Poole said.
Virginia is one of only five states where there isn’t a cap on how much money can be donated to electoral campaigns, including personal use of funds. Candidates in Virginia are required by the Campaign Disclosure Act to disclose all campaign contributions. VPAP “supercharges” disclosure by having a website that provides accurate and fair information that stems from Poole’s background as a reporter.
In the 2013 and 2017 Virginia elections, the Democratic Party raised more money for their gubernatorial candidates. Then, in 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin put $20 million of his own money into his campaign. For every dollar the Democrats raised, the Republicans raised $1.08.
In this year’s race, Democratic candidate for governor Abigail Spanberger has raised around $41 million compared to Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears’ $17 million.
On Tuesday, Poole discussed his book at Pale Fire Brewing Co. with the host of WMRA’s Books & Brews series, Mary Katharine Froehlich. The Books and Brews series runs from September to May with events typically being held on the second Tuesday of every month.
The Books and Brews format allows the host and author to discuss their book in a conversational way and opens up for questions from the audience about halfway through the event. After the event, several members of the audience told The Citizen that they appreciate learning from a good author and the event was a positive way to engage the community, especially about the increasingly fraught topic of politics.
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