The DMN watchdog, Dave Lieber, is helping to shine the light on government action.
Back in December, in one of his columns, he asked for help from the public to
highlight problems with government: Helping to shine the light of day on government
practices that are OK in the dark, but may be somewhat shameful when brought to light.
I applaud that effort.
While some people will back our city leaders and say how
great and wonderful they are no matter what they have done, or try justifying
their actions without reason, it costs all of us one way or another.
In my view, there should be a reasonable tension between the
public and local government. Like Reagan once said, trust but verify.
Too many times people are vilified for simply not toting the
line. Proof of this is easy to find. Every other year the Richardson Coalition
demeans and humiliates those who choose to run for city council who they do not
endorse.
The Dallas Morning News is taking a stand to make it easier
for citizens to make Freedom of Information Requests. The vast majority of
citizens have never made such a request. Maybe they feel intimidated by the
local government leaders or maybe they have no idea they have a right to open
government.
The lack of oversight by the citizens can allow the leaders in
local government to do things they otherwise would not do. It is the
responsibility of citizen to watch, pay attention and keep them in line. The local government
should have a healthy fear of the citizens. The citizens should not be in any
way fearful of their local government. It is a healthy relationship for the
public when there is tension between local leaders and the citizens.
If you are interested in making a Freedom of Information
Request to a local government, here is a tool
that allows you to do so.
Thanks for the support of this new project
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome and I hope it goes good. Thanks.
ReplyDelete