Last week was Sunshine Week.
If you didn’t notice it, you’re not alone.
We’re not talking about the weather, but an initiative started years ago by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government.
Small-town newspapers usually don’t run into the same roadblocks as the large dailies when it comes to right-to-know issues.
So that’s why it never dawned on me to urge citizens to converge on their town offices and start demanding copies of minutes, time cards, contracts and utility bills.
Still, the statewide trend on government transparency has been disturbing. During every session of the Legislature, at least a dozen bills come up to limit our rights to see the inner workings of our government, school districts, courts and law enforcement agencies.
As of 2013, there were 483 exemptions that previous legislatures had already carved out of the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). Some bills may be justified. Others are simply knee-jerk reactions to isolated incidents or measures introduced due to intense lobbying.
During my previous life as executive director of the Maine Press Association, I testified against a bill that would have killed the now-defunct open records website hosted by the Maine Heritage Policy Committee which listed the salaries of all public officials.
One union rep was so emotional during the hearing that I thought he was going to burst out in tears. The Judiciary Committee was not impressed and recommended that the bill not be passed.
In any case, this year’s Sunshine Week is a far cry from the promise Gov. Paul LePage made when he first ran for the state’s highest office: “Every Maine citizen has a right to know what government is up to. He will fight for stronger laws to protect and expand Maine citizens’ right to access information from state and local government. When Paul is governor, open government will be a reality, not a talking point.”
Remember that? It was posted on his campaign website.
The LePage administration did create the Maine Open Checkbook website, which was designed to replace the MHPC project. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been updated since last August.
The governor also once joked that he rarely, if ever, sends emails anymore because the press is such a pain. “They can’t FOAA my brain,” he reportedly said.
I’ve only encountered a few instances when I’ve had to remind public officials of the FOAA. Usually, it dealt with employment or severance contracts. When someone gets a golden parachute to leave the building, taxpayers have the right to know how much it cost them.
And if your school board, town council or board of selectmen conducts a lot of executive sessions without giving specific reasons for the closed-door meetings, they’re wrong – and we need to remind them at times.
Police reports are another issue. You don’t want to jeopardize an ongoing investigation or endanger a victim by revealing their name in a news article. But sometimes law enforcement agencies get overprotective.
Anyhow, we’re sorry if you missed Sunshine Week.
This time of year, I’ll almost settle for anything sunny – and warm.
Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer in Dover-Foxcroft.