This web site was started in 2000 by Susan Wright of Gainesville, Florida. She had always been interested in politics and elections but knew little about how campaigns were financed. On the original web site she wrote:
Until I began the Buyers Guide I knew a lot about the platforms but little about the financial backing of the candidates for whom I voted. In May 2000 I decided to try a new approach to elections: as if I were buying a used car. I should know how many miles my candidates have been driven and by whom; how well they have been taken care of and by whom; whether they have remained around town or have taken on long distance milage. A Buyers Guide would have been helpful, but one did not exist.
Using the skills she developed as a programmer at the University of Florida,
Sue developed and maintained the site until August, 2004, when she was diagnosed
with a brain tumor.
Health and cancer treatments forced her to gradually suspend work on this project.
She died on July 14th, 2007.
This current site is maintained by Sue's husband, Mike Wright.