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Public records, put in context
Who represents you. Who funds the campaigns. Where decisions get made. Follow the connections—and the records behind them.
Open to everyone. No account required.
The concept · Pages, sources & connections
Government information is scattered across websites, maps, filings, and meeting records. We’re building a connected home for it: a page for each place, office, election, person, and organization, with sources, dates, and context.
Those pages link together. A place connects you to the offices that serve it. An office leads to elections and the people seeking it. A candidate connects to campaign committees and the records behind their money. Follow the links wherever your question leads.
A trail back to the evidencePublic records, relevant dates, and clear coverage limits.
A water district. A school board. An appointed planning commission. These institutions shape everyday life, yet their responsibilities and decisions can be hard to follow. Connecting them to the places, people, meetings, and records around them makes it easier to see who is responsible, how decisions happen, and where to look closer.
Explore the idea through real pagesThe demo · Start exploring
Take a self-guided tour of pages we’ve built. Start anywhere: each example opens a different window into government and shows why connecting public records matters.
Real examples. A project in progress. These pages demonstrate the site’s direction. Check each page’s sources, dates, and coverage notes as you explore.
County
Riverside County
Explore county services, supervisorial districts, elections, public bodies, meetings, and sources in one place.
Why it mattersA place connects the many institutions that shape everyday life.
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Elected office
Mayor of Riverside
See the officeholder, the area represented, election history, and records connected to the mayor’s office.
Why it mattersKnowing who holds an office is the beginning of understanding public responsibility.
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Election
Riverside City Council, Ward 2
Open the June 2026 election example to explore candidates, results, campaign-finance coverage, and source records.
Why it mattersAn election makes more sense when the candidates, money, and office are connected.
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Precinct
Precinct 228-807
Explore a regular precinct, its voting-precinct relationships, and the races connected to its geography.
Why it mattersOverlapping boundaries help explain why neighbors can have different ballots.
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Appointed public body
Riverside County Planning Commission
Find the commission’s role, members, appointments, meetings, decisions, and public records.
Why it mattersPublic decisions also happen in appointed bodies that deserve to be understood.
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Record story
A planning decision in Home Gardens
Read a dated account of a proposed children’s activity center, then follow the link to the county’s report of actions.
Why it mattersAn explanation should let you check the evidence for yourself.
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City
City of Riverside
Connect city statistics with local offices, elections, meetings, boards, and related districts.
Why it mattersA city profile brings civic facts and the people making decisions together.
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Unincorporated community
Home Gardens
See how an unincorporated community connects to county representation, schools, precincts, and service districts.
Why it mattersA familiar place name does not always mean a separate city government.
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School district
Riverside Unified School District
Explore trustee areas, board members, elections, meetings, and the communities the district serves.
Why it mattersSchool governance follows its own boundaries and elected responsibilities.
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Special district
Western Municipal Water District
Explore the district’s services, electoral divisions, board, elections, meetings, and budget information.
Why it mattersServices such as water can be governed by a district separate from your city or county.
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Court
Riverside County Superior Court
Explore judges, courthouses, court responsibilities, accountability, elections, and available records.
Why it mattersCourts are part of the civic picture, with a different role from legislative and executive offices.
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Council · Ohio
Toledo City Council
Explore district and at-large council members together, plus the council’s responsibilities, elections, and meetings.
Why it mattersThe same civic questions need answers that respect how each government actually works.
Explore exampleFollow the records
Campaign finance is where this project began. Explore who gives, who receives, and how campaigns spend—with the filing context needed to read the numbers.
Campaign finance · Riverside County
Move from an election to the people, committees, and reported transactions connected to it. Look at the reporting period and coverage notes before comparing totals.
Coverage is partial and varies by filing authority and reporting period. A missing record does not mean no activity occurred.
Geography gives records context
Counties, cities, schools, courts, and service districts have different boundaries and responsibilities. Explore how they overlap—and where you fit in.
Explore offices on the mapFind your place
Search the site’s location profiles. For ZIP-code and precinct browsing, use Find My Area.
News & public records
Bring reporting into context with the places and public bodies it covers. Distinguish independent reporting, official updates, and explanations based on public records.
Editorial illustration · Paper Trail Politics / OpenAI
From the collection · Source brief
Paper Trail Politics ·
Our Home Gardens example follows a proposed children’s activity center through a county planning action, explains what that dated record says, and links to the original document.
Read the record story Browse the news collectionThe promise behind the project
Start with the question you have. Our Learn page introduces campaign finance, elections, and public records, with a growing plan for guides and explainers.
Visit LearnNamed sources, dates, and coverage notes help you understand what’s available and what’s still missing. Transparency scorecards remain in development.
Read our methodsCorrections are part of the work. Flag a fact, relationship, or source that needs attention, or support the project with your time or resources.
Report a possible errorPaper Trail Politics
We’re building a connected guide to public life, one sourced page at a time. Deeper history, more places, and future coverage of bills and proceedings will extend the same paper trail.