A tip of the hat to state Sen. Don Vaughan of Greensboro, one of 32 legislators earning a Sunshine Award from Democracy North Carolina today.

The only legislator from Guilford County on the list, unfortunately.

The recognition comes for exceptional compliance with campaign finance reporting requirements.

Democracy North Carolina is the watchdog outfit that prompted investigations of Jim Black and keeps an eye on other shady practices by North Carolina politicians.

One way to do that is to closely monitor where candidates get their campaign money and how they spend it, but that's only possible if they file clear and honest reports -- which can be viewed at the State Board of Elections Web site.

Not getting a Sunshine Award doesn't mean a legislator is violating the law. Innocent mistakes and omissions can occur. Sometimes candidates or their treasurers aren't as familiar with reporting requirements as they ought to be.

But if 32 senators and representatives can make DNC's list, the other 138 should be able to as well. Guilford County voters should insist on it.

Next time this list comes out, let's hope Don Vaughan has a lot more company.

This article orginally posted by  Doug Clark on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 12:33 pm on the Greensboro News-Record website.