In
1822, James Madison wrote: “Knowledge will forever govern
ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm
themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
Today, that notion
still holds true, and democratic government continues to depend upon
the informed and active participation of its citizens at all levels
of government.
For democracy to
flourish, government must operate in the sunshine:
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The public must have access to
records documenting the functions of government and to meetings
where government business is transacted.
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Citizens need to have information
about the pressures exerted on the policy-making process and
guaranteed access to influence that process.
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Reports containing disclosure by
certain high-level government officials of gifts they have received
and investments they have made must be available to the public.
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The public must be able to access
reports of expenditures made by lobbyists and money contributed to
campaigns for public office.
But since 9/11, the
federal government has been removing, restricting and destroying
information in the name of homeland security. A fundamental shift is
occurring, and the public’s right to know is on the way to being
replaced by a "need to know" standard in which the
government decides who gets what information.
As a result, citizens
are less informed and less able to participate in government. The
public is being stripped of its ability to oversee and hold the
government accountable, and public trust is slipping.
To learn how the
League of Women Voters has been supporting open government that
enables citizen participation,
click here.
Naming thing
The
power of information.
Laura Rench of Jefferson Township in Montgomery County, Ohio said
that information gained from public records was a major factor in
stopping the Army from transporting a stockpile of diluted VX nerve
agent to a hazardous waste station (owned by Perma-Fix of Dayton)
located about a mile from her home.
Records of investments made by the Ohio Bureau of Workers
Compensation have been exempt from public view. In light of the
Coingate revelations, the Ohio legislature is considering making
those records public. Had the records been public, a newspaper, an
employer concerned about rising premiums or a member of the public
may have discovered that the fund was investing in rare coins and
brought it to the public’s attention.
The Columbus Dispatch obtained a copy of the Financial
Disclosure that Secretary of State Blackwell filed with the Ohio
Ethics Commission. On April 8, 2006, The Dispatch reported:
“Blackwell also owned shares of voting machine manufacturer Diebold
last year at the same time his office negotiated a
multimillion-dollar contract with the company. He has said the
Diebold investment was made in January 2005 without his knowledge and
that he first discovered it last weekend. The stock has been sold at
a loss, he said.” See a copy of the
Financial Disclosure form. 
