The Transparent Campaign Initiative was founded in 2024 by Morgan and Chuck Zumbaugh after experiencing limited access to voter resources first hand. In the spirit of transparency, neither of our founders were engaged in local or state politics prior to the summer of 2023. Here is the story of their experience that sparked the TCI.

About a month before the 2023 election, a school board candidate knocked on our door to introduce himself. Until that conversation, we weren’t aware an election was taking place that year (a bit embarrassing to admit but the truth nonetheless). Having a young child that will be entering the public school system, we knew participation in this election was in our family’s best interest. Wanting to vote for candidates that share our values and stances on issues relevant to the position, we began researching our candidates. However, we found very little information to help make our decision. In addition, it became apparent after leaving the polls that we had not “maximized” our vote. In school board elections, voters within the district can vote for up to the number of open seats instead of just one candidate. It was hard for us to believe a publicly available tool didn’t exist to support voters familiarize themselves with the voting process and their candidates. After months of discussion, we decided to create that resource for our community.

Our goal is not to steer the direction of elections but rather provide a tool that makes voting for candidates that align with your own beliefs easy. We also hope our initiative will increase voter participation.