Editorial: McKenna a bright spot during Sunshine Week
March 26, 2008
By Editorial Board
Last week may have been mostly cloudy, but it was Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote open government and open public records.
Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna celebrated Sunshine Week by touting his initiatives to keep government business transparent.
One initiative was just approved by the Legislature, directing the state to develop a Web site to help the public identify how the state is spending money.
Another legislative bill McKenna co-sponsored with State Auditor Brian Sonntag requires government officials to audio record proceedings in executive session, to be heard by a judge if there is a question of improper use of the behind-closed-doors meeting. Cities were in an uproar and the bill did not pass, but McKenna said he will pursue it again, noting that there have been 450 instances in just three years where executive sessions were called into question in local governments.
Thirdly, the AG’s office has developed model rules on electronic records and has developed new technology to store thousands of pages of documents in electronic format. The idea is to allow requestors of public documents and e-mails to easily search for the information they are seeking.
McKenna is a champion for open government, and you should be glad of it. But it is a sorry state of affairs that more rules are needed to ensure that the people’s work is done in public.
The Spokane-based Center for Justice marked Sunshine Week with the filing of five lawsuits against Washington agencies, including the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency, the Arlington School Board, Yelm Fire District, Port of Longview and the city of Ridgefield for violations to the open meetings in the last couple of years. The allegations are supported in part by findings filed with the state auditor.
A new initiative we’d like to see is a requirement for all elected officials to attend a workshop on open meetings and open records at least once every two years. In the short run, it would keep down legal costs. In the long run, we’d have a more open government.
Isn’t that what it’s all about?
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