Let the Sunshine In (Editorial)

Although it was begun by journalists in 2005, Sunshine Week, March 11-17, applies to anyone who thinks government should be open in its dealings with its bosses: you.

You may deal with local, state and national officials only rarely. You may need public documents infrequently. But when you do, the need is acute.

Sometimes, innocent people are arrested or harassed by law enforcement officials, and maybe a particular law enforcement official has a history of harassment. Sometimes, a property is assessed improperly and the owner winds up overpaying in taxes.

Sometimes, city officials meet in private to decide whether to allow a particular business in a particular neighborhood.

Your need for access to public records and meetings is as vital as any journalist’s. "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives," James Madison wrote.

If you are to be your own governor, public entities must make obtaining power-enabling knowledge as easy as possible. It is your right.

Here’s a scenario: What if the annual salaries paid to Ernie Passailaigue ($326,832) and his two friends from South Carolina, David Barden and Ernestine Middleton ($225,655 each) to manage the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery were not public? Would citizen outrage at some of their missteps have been so great if those citizens didn’t know how handsomely the lottery officials were being paid?

And would the Lottery Commission have set a maximum salary for its next director at $175,000 a year? Would that new director, Bishop Woosley (who accepted the post at $165,000), have decided that he really didn’t need to fill those vice president posts, saving the taxpayers $450,000 annually?

That’s a recent, tangible result of open government in which an informed public demanded accountability.

Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act is yours. Use it. To learn how, visit FOIArkansas.com.