Let the sunshine in (Government transparency, from a Kansas editor)

Managing Editor - dhogg@gbtribune.com
Let the sunshine in

The Kansas Press Association launched at the start of the 2005 legislative session an ambitious political agenda aimed at giving Kansans a more open government. This isn’t just some far-away issue. They weren’t thinking about better access to detainees (read prisoners of war) at Guantanamo Bay or declassifying top-secret 9/11 documents. They had in mind making it easier to get copies of reports filed by agencies that receive our tax money and spend it in our communities. They wanted to make it more difficult for our school boards and county commissions to operate in furtive secrecy. This agenda targeted the day-today actions by boards that represent us and make decisions on our behalf.

Things went well until our illustrious state Attorney General Phill Kline’s recent missteps (that’s putting it nicely) where he himself violated the open meetings act by meeting with members of the state board of education. This is the same Phill Kline who stood sideby- side with newspaper officials and politicians in his office proclaiming the importance of ethics and openness in government. Well, no one is perfect, I guess. If the irony wasn’t so damaging, it would be comical. We can only hope the black eye this faux pas gave the cause won’t derail the effort.

Why do I bring this up? It is because of such actions that a coalition of journalists, newspapers and news organizations band together each year to observe Sunshine Week, which sets Saturday. “Your right to know” is the credo. The purpose is to call folks’attention to the issue of open government and to cast the bright beam of truth into the darkest recesses of officialdom.

A Sunshine Week survey, conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, a non-partisan Washington, D.C.- based research company, brought some interesting information to light. The firm surveyed 1,003 Americans between March 4-9. They found that 35 percent of Americans were “very concerned” about government secrecy. Another 35 percent said they were “somewhat concerned.” It is worth noting that in a similar poll done in 2000, before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 38 percent were “very concerned” and 34 percent were somewhat concerned.
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http://www.gbtribune.com/editorials/dhogg.htm

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Someone at D.U. posted a link last week concerning "Sunshine Week." Surely hope something will shift, and our press be returned to life!

becomes the focus of somebody's supposed concern about transparency. Until the vote counting procedure becomes transparent, nothing else bad can be prevented or improved.