Campaign finance information is publicly available online, and it only takes a few minutes to check. Here’s how:

1. Visit the campaign finance portal. Open the county’s campaign finance portal at netfile.com/public/SON/campaign. This is where Sonoma County candidates file their official donation reports.

2. Find the candidate. Use the search box or browse the list of filers and type in the candidate’s last name. Each candidate’s committee usually has a name like “[Name] for Supervisor 2026.”

3. Open their filings. Click the committee name to see every report they have filed, listed by date. The newest ones are usually at the top.

4. Look for the Form 460. This is the main report. Schedule A lists individual donations: who gave, how much, and their occupation and employer. Schedule E shows how the campaign spent money.

5. Check for Form 497s too. In the weeks right before an election, any donation of $1,000 or more must be reported within 24 hours on a Form 497, so these show the most recent big contributions.

6. Search by donor. If the portal has a contributions or transactions search, you can type in a person’s or company’s name to see which candidates they have given to.

A couple of friendly tips: home addresses are redacted for privacy, so you’ll see cities but not street addresses. And if something looks confusing, the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters is happy to help answer questions.