The campaign finance community lost one of its pioneering scholars last week. Herbert Alexander, a political science professor with a particular passion for money in politics, passed away at the age of 80.In the days of electronic filing, disclosure requirements, and searchable databases on any number of subjects, it's easy to overlook how much more labor intensive campaign finance research was in the not too distant past:Before federal campaign finance disclosure laws were enacted, he had to rely on an ever-expanding roster of show-me-the-money contacts and on his own persistence at digging out names and numbers that campaigns were not necessarily eager to divulge. He attended every Democratic and Republican national convention from 1960 to 1992, meeting with party officials and campaign operatives, as well as fundraisers and donors."He always had a passion for it, an eat-sleep-and-drink-it passion," said Gloria Cornett, his longtime assistant director. She recalled how, in the early days of his research, he compiled index cards and columns of numbers by hand and how in interviews he would remember precise amounts from campaigns 20 years before.Every four years, beginning in 1960, he published a study of how federal election campaigns, including presidential campaigns, were financed. His final study examined the 1992 election.