Note from an old warrior
May 3rd, 2007 by JamieB
Bill Northrop has been fighting the open government/open records fight for almost half a century. Even though he is now retired as co-publisher of The Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa., he is still hard at it, as his recent opinion piece makes clear below.
In my nearly 50 years as a journalist warrior in the fight for citizens to have broad and free access to government, I’ve never witnessed such a public interest and awareness about the need for Sunshine in Pennsylvania government as there is today. Chalk it up to the pay raise scandal and subsequent revelations, active journalists, muckraker reformists, and voters who punched out 25 politicians and a judge in 2006. It doesn’t hurt the cause that a Philadelphia grand jury last week recommended strengthening the public’s right-to-know.
There’s no doubt about it. A complete overhaul of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Laws is in order. Too much damage has been done to the Commonwealth by the secrecy of the past. Personally, I favor imbedding in the state constitution the right of the people to have access to their government. Florida has that and it makes all the difference. However, all encompassing legislation would help for now. And, that seems poised to happen with support coming from Governor Rendell and several leaders in both political parties.
However, don’t believe it’s a done deal. Not only does Pennsylvania’s legislature move slowly, but the politics involved in such changes – for politicians these would be called radical changes – go very deep.
The big players who have intimate working relationships with legislators and legislative leaders are taxpayer paid-for lobbying organizations the public isn’t aware of. These include the County Commissioners Association, Association of Boroughs, Associations of Townships, Leagues of Cities and Municipalities, School Board Association, Chiefs of Police Association, Municipal Authorities Association to name a few. All that I have met with have resisted any meaningful changes to Sunshine laws. They have been joined without exception by the Pennsylvania State Police (or, as I prefer, the Pennsylvania Secret Police).
Keep in mind that there are 2400 municipalities, 501 school districts and 550 authorities plus numerous planning commissions and development groups, employes unions, and employes interest groups. The key word is “politics” as in elections and appointments. Many legislators started in these groups. Mildly put and definitely understated, this equals political power. And you can bet your life, that few will favor opening the doors, window, meetings and records of their organizations or related organizations to citizens’ scrutiny.
Yet, Pennsylvania government isn’t owned by the elected and appointed officials. It’s owned by the people whose political trump card is the vote. It’s the citizens who pay the salaries and fund the programs. Voters got legislators’ attention in 2005 and 2006. They can, and should, do it again.