Tallahassee Democrat

Crist’s open government message has mixed results

By Bill Cotterell • Florida Capital Bureau Political Editor • March 16, 2008

When late-night comics lampoon the government, Merritt Island High School senior James Bayless hears the laughter as a celebration of the First Amendment.

When his reporters meet less resistance digging into records on abused children, Orlando Sentinel editor Bob Shaw credits a new attitude of openness at the Department of Children and Families.

And JoAnn Carrin --head of the Office of Open Government Gov. Charlie Crist announced he would create in his inaugural address -- thinks a series of public hearings and training have helped erase the assumption that government information in the hands of the government just naturally belongs to government officials.

“It is the people’s government and they have a right to see as much of it as possible,” Crist said.

As part of “Sunshine Sunday” observances, Carrin has collected essays by students in a contest designed to get kids and teachers talking about how First Amendment freedoms belong to all — not just those who own printing presses or broadcast licenses. More than 800 entries have been screened by the Department of Education.

Crist will announce a winner — awarded a $5,000 scholarship — on Tuesday.

“You know we live in a democratic country when the most-made-fun-of person in the country is the president,” wrote Bayless, a finalist in the judging. “And unlike dictatorships, the media need not fear a knock on the door in the middle of the night.”

William Doenlen, a senior at Pensacola High, recognized that government agencies sometimes aren’t trying to cloak their own mistakes in secrecy. A meeting or record might be closed to protect an individual’s privacy, he noted, or even to shield the public from an over-reaction.

“However, a government that withholds information from its people, even if well-intentioned, is still at fault,” he wrote. “To assume that the average citizen is incompetent is the highest act of cynicism, the worst crime a leader can commit against the people.”

Carrin has a sunny corner office on the Capitol’s first floor, a minute’s walk from Crist’s. But for security reasons the walk involves an always-locked door between her office and his — much as government itself always tempers a public appearance of openness with its own necessities for getting the job done.

Agencies routinely funnel even the most mundane inquiries through designated public information offices. Crist and other elected officers, as well as department heads, receive visitors privately — including other public officials. Legislators don’t hold formal executive sessions to talk about bills, but have no problem consulting lobbyists or various constituencies out of the sunshine.

Shaw, nation-state editor of the Orlando Sentinel , has covered state government and politics for more than 30 years. He said DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth, a former attorney general who serves on Crist’s special Open Government Reform Commission, and his deputy George Sheldon have brought a new light to the huge agency.

“We’ve found it easier to get records about abused children once they’d been identified, and also agency spending, which in the past we’d had to involve a lawyer to obtain,” said Shaw. “The attitude Charlie brings to the issue is commendable and I’m certain it’s made agency heads and their employees more sensitive to access issues.”

But Bob Gabordi, editor of the Tallahassee Democrat , saw some clouds last week when legislators went a block from the Capitol to watch a closed-door screening of a documentary film about discrimination against educators who question evolution. There are two pending bills that would protect teachers and students from punitive action for challenging any scientific theories, but organizers who rented the Challenger Learning Center said there was no planned discussion of legislation or votes.

“I think the governor has talked about more openness and has taken steps to make the executive branch more open but, no, I have not heard or seen a ‘trickle-down effect,’” said Gabordi. “On the local level, we have some public officials in Wakulla County who make it as difficult as possible to get records and we’ve had similar issues in certain other local actions. The government has sent a message but I don’t think it’s been received.”

Carrin said the open-government panel is working on that.

“It’s been just extremely enlightening to have citizens come and talk about their experiences with agencies — not all of which were pleasant,” said Carrin. “It’s been really moving.”

Reproduced courtesy of the Tallahassee Democrat.
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