Journalists should not forget to ask these basic background questions of all political candidates they cover. Their answers will provide warnings about legal, ethical and financial controversies a candidate might face during the campaign. The answers might also provide a good lead for a news feature, and at the very least will guide your research into the candidate's past.

You'll have the best chance to get the straight answers you want -- and to follow up when a candidate gets evasive -- if you ask these questions in person. Protect yourself by recording the candidate's answers on tape or video, too. Follow up 'yes' answers by seeking full details. Allow candidates to explain themselves -- sometimes past mistakes can become powerful incentives in a person's development. But if a candidate refuses to answer, or fudges an answer, note that, as well. A complete set of candidate questions and answers (and refusals to answer) would become a valuable citizens' resource on your organization's website.

And, of course, follow up on these background interviews by checking court records, searching news databases and interviewing people who know the candidate. If you find evidence that a candidate lied to you in this interview, confront the candidate, and demand an explanation.

LEGAL

• Where do you live?

  (Check to make sure that street address actually lies within the district the candidate is running to represent.)

• Have you ever been arrested?
• Have you ever been convicted of, pled no contest to, or placed in a diversion program for a crime, other than parking or minor traffic offenses? (DUI is not a minor offense.)
• Have you ever been the subject of a restraining order?
• Have you ever lost a lawsuit?
• Have you ever bought or sold illegal drugs?

TAXES

• Have you ever failed to pay taxes when you were supposed to?
• Have you ever been penalized, fined or cited by the IRS?

FAMILY

• If you have been or are engaged, married or divorced - to whom, and when?
• Do you have children?

  If so, what are their names and ages?
  

  Where do they (or did they) attend school (elementary through post-secondary)? If they did not attend public schools, why not?

RELIGION/COMMUNITY

• To what religious and civic organizations do you belong?

  (Research the stated beliefs of these organizations. If they promote or oppose potentially controversial beliefs in your community -- such as gender restrictions, opposition to birth control, homosexual marriage, pacifism, etc. -- ask the candidate to clarify his/her position on those issues and to reconcile his/her position with that of the organization.)

• To what charities, causes or civic organizations have you contributed more than $500 over the past year?

EMPLOYMENT

• Who is your current employer?
• What companies or businesses do you own, or hold a greater than five percent stake in? On what corporate boards do you or have you served?

  (Check federal and state regulatory agencies for any actions against these companies. Also look in the courts for any judgments against them.)

• Have you ever been fired or laid off from a job?

  If so, explain.

QUALIFICATIONS

• What are your professional qualifications for the office you seek? (Not necessary for general representation offices, such as Congress.)

  (Ask candidates for assessor if they have a real estate or property appraiser's license. Ask candidates for coroner if they have a medical degree. Ask public works candidates if they have an engineering license. And so forth. Then check with the appropriate state licensing board to see that the candidates' licenses are valid, and if they have ever been disciplined.)

If you have time, search the Web, Nexis and the Library of Congress for any Web pages, articles or books that the candidate has written which may further illustrate his or her beliefs. Read them, and be prepared to summarize those writings, and all your research, for your readers. And don't forget to keep looking at campaign contribution data to see who's paying for the candidate's campaign. (See my research page for tips and links.) Compare and contrast the candidate's stated positions with the agendas of those contributing to his or her campaign.

Remember, you're not simply trying to play "gotcha" with these inquiries. You are trying to develop a deeper understanding of a political candidate's background, qualification and motivation for public service.