Trusted Source book cover

Trusted Source

How a Virginia Nonprofit Gained Bipartisan Support in an Era of Political Polarization

This book tells the unlikely story of how the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) became a reliable source for state political information in a time of deep partisan disbelief.

Trusted Source is also a chronicle of quarter century of Virginia political history. With his reporter’s eye for detail, VPAP founder David Poole describes the frequent interplay between VPAP and political events, including the McDonnell gift scandal that shook Virginia’s laissez faire ethics rules to the core.

Available August 28. Pre-order from:

  • “In a time of deep cynicism about many public institutions, the Virginia Public Access Project remains an outlier, commanding trust across Virginia’s political spectrum. ”

    Margaret Edds, journalist and author of An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington Jr.

  • “This book tells the story of how the vision of one person and one organization transformed Virginia politics and aided in promoting transparency, trust and accountability ."

    Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

  • "This book is a roadmap to making transparency happen. You will come, as I did, to admire the author for his gritty determination and personal sacrifices to achieve a lasting institution for the public good.”

    Larry Sabato, founder and director of the Center for Politics, University of Virginia

Upcoming Events

September 9

Library of Virginia
Richmond

6:00 pm

September 23

Schar School of Policy & Government
Arlington

October 14

WMRA Brews & Books
Pale Fire Brewing Co. - Harrisonburg

7:00 pm

ABOUT DAVID POOLE

In 1997, Poole took a one-year leave as a statehouse reporter in Richmond to start the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). Poole never looked back, steadfast in his belief that the time had come to shine much-needed light on Virginia’s laisse faire campaign finance system.

Over the next 25 years, VPAP revolutionized public understanding of money in Virginia politics and went on to address two challenges of our times—the decline of newspapers and a lack of faith in our institutions.

Poole is a Florida native who earned a degree in Soviet and Eastern European Studies from the University of North Carolina. Before he founded VPAP, Poole wrote for newspapers in Lynchburg, Tampa, Fla., and Roanoke. He and his wife, Clare, live in Richmond.

Book Clubs

If you’d like to add Trusted Source is on your club’s reading list, we’ll be happy to scheduling David M. Poole for an hour-long Zoom discussion. For orders of 10 or more books, we’ll arrange for personal appearances at book clubs in the Richmond area and perhaps beyond.

For more information, email David Poole