Candidates talk the talk, but can they walk the walk on openness

Included in this week’s News Journal, pages A-7 through A-12, are responses from nearly all of the Whitley County political candidates on the ballot for next Tuesday’s General Election.

We asked each of the candidates a series of questions, tailored to the specific races, and have provided their answers in this week’s edition of the newspaper. We want our readers to be informed and consider it an honor to be the county’s most reliable and trusted source for election information.

I want to thank all the candidates that took part in the surveys for their time and the thoughtful answers they provided. It is apparent to me that those seeking political office here take it very seriously, and they should be commended for that.

A small handful of candidates (two actually) did not bother to provide responses to the questionnaires we provided. Voters can draw their own conclusions from that. Rest assured though, EVERY reasonable effort was made to ensure ALL candidates were contacted (often numerous times) and provided ample opportunity to respond. The choice was their own.

It is unfortunate that there is not unlimited space in this newspaper to ask all the questions we wanted to ask of the candidates. There are so many issues I am curious about I could probably ask 100 questions and not be satisfied.

You will notice that there is one question that we asked all the candidates, no matter what position they are running for – it centers around their belief in and commitment to open government. This is very important to those of us in the media, and frankly, it should be important to everyone. Specifically, what we are talking about here, is the right of common citizens to access the records of governing agencies and also the ability to watch the decision-making process in action.
Of course, each of the candidates in turn gushed about how open government is one of the pillars of our society and how it is as meaningful to them as the flag and grandma’s fresh-baked apple pie. That’s a good attitude to go into a new term of office with.

Unfortunately, being a newspaper reporter for the past dozen years, I have found those promises tend to wilt like hothouse flowers when put to the test. When the chips are down, stonewalling, delay tactics and shady country lawyering become the norm.
My memory is not so short.

Within the past year, the Kentucky Attorney General determined the city of Williamsburg had violated the Kentucky Open Records Act by not complying with a request for documentation about its former police chief. The law SPECIFICALLY STATES that the information being requested was not something that could be denied … but of course, it was anyway. It is sad when citizens are forced to take their government to the mat for some simple information.

Several years ago, the Kentucky Press Association performed an audit of jails, fiscal courts, city governments and school districts in every county in the state. What did it find? In many cases, governments that treated the governed with suspicion and sometimes hostility for even asking for basic things like contracts, salary scales, jail logs, budgets, etc.
Take a tour of the area’s District Courts some day if you want a perfect example of government conducted out in the open, but still in secret. I witnessed it myself, for about the millionth time in my career, when I sat in on an hour or so of court in Laurel County last week and was unable to hear anything that was going. Lawyers, the accused and the judge whispered back and forth to one another like thieves planning a bank heist. It was a total sham.

Pull out the pages with the candidate’s responses. Keep them in a safe place. Remember their promises and hold them to it. An informed, participatory electorate is the only path to better government.

We are happy to do our part.