The Back Pages: Papers call for open government

Sunshine Week, as we noted yesterday, is an annual event led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and conceived to promote knowledge and use of open-records laws. Several newspaper editorials from across the state have weighed in and made the call for more openness and transparency at all levels of government. While all call for more “sunshine,” there seems to be difference in where those beams of light come from, and only one paper promised it would come from them.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press tips its hat to persistent citizens who read the fine print and demand to know the truth.

So here’s to the little old lady who insists on seeing the fine print in the bus contract the school district signs. Here’s to the grumpy old man who demands a clear answer when he asks the city council why it’s getting up to go behind closed doors. Here’s to the fed-up taxpayer who wants to see official e-mail to understand better why so-and-so got a tax break. Here’s to the cranky partisans who scour the campaign contributions of political candidates and who raise hell when the reports thereof are late. Here’s to the ornery bloggers who mine the Web for source documents and more.

Here’s also to the many public officials and employees who understand that public information belongs to the people, not to the government, and here’s to librarians, attorneys, reporters and civic groups who walk the beat for openness.

The St. Cloud Times devoted two editorials to the topic this week. The first editorial calls for openness at the state and local level while the second called for a federal shield law.

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Look no further than this board’s recent effort to push the St. Cloud City Council from its desire to conduct monthly study sessions with, well, less-than-optimal sunshine. Last summer, rather than use the technology taxpayers bought for them to broadcast such meetings, a majority of the council voted to not televise these sessions.

Several editorials, recording efforts by this board and an election in the fall finally forced a majority of the council to agree to let the sun shine in.

Unfortunately, such sunshine has yet to reach all corners of St. Cloud government. Based on minutes posted on its Web site and confirmed by executive director Bruce Thielman, the St. Cloud Housing & Redevelopment Authority’s board since at least 2006 has routinely held an untelevised special meeting immediately preceding its televised monthly meetings.

So what’s the thinking of HRA board members? Let all the sun shine in only after they’ve had a chance to discuss issues with the cameras off?

But such actions are nothing compared to what Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s administration wants to do regarding the contact information of people who volunteer to serve on public bodies that conduct the public’s business. The state wants to keep those addresses and contact
information private.

The Worthington Daily Globe cites a recent study showing that “three quarters of American adults view the federal government as secretive” and looks to newspapers to take the lead.

Of course, it should be noted that it’s almost natural to possess a distrust of government. From the Watergate scandal of the Richard Nixon years to the various controversies that encompassed Bill Clinton’s presidency – and now, the recent fall from grace of New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer – it’s easy to feel that we’re not getting told the whole story.

That’s where newspapers come in. It’s their job – whether it’s the Daily Globe or a small community weekly – to be a trusted, objective source of information. It’s their job to keep a measure of the pulse of their coverage areas – reporting the successes, the failures and, yes, the stories that some are sometimes too eager to hide.

The aforementioned survey, which included 1,012 adults, was commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors for Sunshine Week, a national initiative that encourages discussions about the importance of freedom of information. We at the Globe aim to do our part to continuously spark this discussion, for the benefit of our readers and the
communities we serve.

The Back Pages is a recurring roundup of editorial opinions on issues that face Minnesota.