Democracy depends on open government

Openness in government is and always has been a cornerstone of America's democracy.

Our country's founders understood that when they chose to set up our representative system of government. In doing so, they understood that such a system required full participation by an informed citizenry. And they understood the need for the government to be as open and accessible to its citizens as possible.

In other words, the founders believed that if you gave the people enough information, they would find the truth, make intelligent decisions and thus govern themselves effectively.

More than two centuries later, as the fourth annual Sunshine Week focuses on the public's right to know, most Americans agree that government should be as open as possible.

And yet, according to a nationwide poll being released today, more and more Americans are concerned that government is becoming increasingly secretive, especially at the federal level.

A survey of 1,012 adults commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors revealed that 74 percent believe the federal government is somewhat or very secretive, up from the 62 percent who felt that way in 2006. Only 20 percent felt the federal government was somewhat or very open, and 6 percent said they didn't know.

That's troubling to David Westphal, who runs the Washington Bureau for McClatchy Newspapers, The Bee's parent company, and who serves as co-chair of ASNE's freedom of information committee. It should be troubling to all of us as well.

"In a democracy whose survival depends on openness, it's sobering to see that three-fourths of Americans now view their national government as somewhat or very secretive," he said in announcing the survey results.

The survey found that people feel better about their state governments and even better about their local governments: 50 percent of the people felt their state government was somewhat or very open, while 44 percent felt it was somewhat or very secretive; when asked about local government, 56 percent rated it as open, and 40 percent as secret.

Still, the fact that only about half of the people see their state or local government as open bodes poorly for public trust and participation.

It's clear from the survey that the public wants to know more than local, state or federal officials often are willing to tell them.

As an example, 8 out of 10 of those surveyed want to know who their elected officials meet with each day.

As part of Sunshine Week, The Bee asked to see appointment calendars for a variety of elected officials. Today and tomorrow you'll read what we found.

Getting those records wasn't as easy as it should have been. We filed California Public Records Act requests with Stanislaus County and its cities. The county, Modesto and Turlock complied with our request. In the case of Turlock, even though the city attorney told us the public had no right to see Mayor John Lazar's calendar, the mayor had no problem with a little sunlight shining on his books and quickly made his calendar available. The rest of Stanislaus County's cities informed us they didn't keep any of the records we requested. We think they should, and perhaps now they will.

Our requests for access to our state legislators' official appointment calendars were denied on two grounds: An invasion of privacy, and as potentially causing more harm than good — a pair of reasons that makes one wonder more than ever what is on those official calendars.

As another example, 7 out of 10 people surveyed said they want access to police reports about specific crimes in their neighborhoods.