THE Anadarko Daily News

The Anadarko Daily News

y
Sunshine Week:
Transparency
can retore faith
Mar in government
12 OKLAHOMA CITY – Secret
meetings and backroom deals are
the everyday norm at our state
capitol. That is why gubernatorial
2018 candidate Drew Edmondson today
is calling on Oklahoma’s legisla-
ture to fully subject its actions to
Page public scrutiny.
The legislature has exempted it-
001 self from the Open Meetings Act
and Open Records Act, but Ed-
Clip mondson believes the Oklahoma
resized House of Representatives and
39% Oklahoma Senate should be held to
the same standards as other public
bodies in Oklahoma.
“Government belongs to the
people,” Edmondson said. “Every
meeting they hold, every document T
they create – those things do not i
belong to the legislature, they be- h
long to the people. The legislature p
should conduct its business in the D
open, for all to see. Instead, the
deals are done and then spoils are
distributed in private. What we see
in committee hearings and on the

-
floor of the house and senate is
simply ceremony.”
A recipient of Freedom of Infor-
s
mation Oklahoma’s Marian Opala
e —
First Amendment Award, Edmond-
. l
son has long been recognized as a
, d
champion of open government.
l f
“Legislators should know that
- p
their constituents are tired of
n A
closed-door meetings where corpo-
rate CEOs and high-paid lobbyists h
have seats at the table but everyday i
Oklahomans are kept in the dark,” M
Edmondson said. “We can begin to S
restore trust in Oklahoma govern- 1
ment if our elected officials would
n only let the light shine in.” t
r Edmondson has pledged as gov- i
n ernor to create an Office of Open Y
r Government with the sole purpose c
e of ensuring compliance with state
and federal sunshine laws.
O
-
e
“Good government dies in the
dark,” Edmondson said. “Govern-
a
f ment agencies should follow the
letter of the law but also the spirit
v
of the law. Oklahoma’s openness
laws were crafted to ensure that A
governmental agencies would be h
responsive to the people they serve. w
e h
The intent of the laws is that the
t d
public be informed. From city hall
t N
to the state capitol, government
y
agencies and public officials
D g
should stand on the side of open-
ness.” e
e c
As attorney general, Edmondson
ft h
frequently forced government
r, k
agencies to be more transparent, in-
a o
cluding issuing an Opinion that de-
clared government email records l
r
were public documents available
n s
for inspection, filling a gap in pub-
l f
lic access to electronic communi-
cations. Edmondson also created w
d H
and taught a statewide, multiyear
d u
series of educational seminars de-
r c
signed to inform local, county and
g w
state officials, as well as the gen-
eral public, about the requirements
d n
of Oklahoma’s sunshine laws.
t o
“Open government is necessary
m W
for good government,” Edmondson
y p
said. “Our legislators should not
- a
hide from us. The decisions they
make and the laws they create im- c
pact every Oklahoman. We are h
s their constituents and we have the R
— right to hold them accountable for s
h their actions. Legislative leaders 9
t should move out of the shadows t
- and into the light.” i

Little has changed L

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