Excuses, excuses

They’re coming, so keep watch

As the campaigns heat up for fall elections, one thing (actually two) you’ll hear about here, often, is the movement to strengthen the FOIA in Arkansas. If you go to a ball game this summer, you might see a person requesting your signature to refer to the people (1) a constitutional amendment, and (2) an initiated act to shield the Freedom of Information laws in Arkansas.

Do transparency a favor: Sign both.

The good folks and true who make up the Arkansas Citizens for Transparency have a website, and we refer you to it, specifically the “Donate Now” button:

arcitizens4transparency.org

What the movement needs is signatures. But it also needs cash before that, because ACT has to pay canvassers. How much cash? To get it all done, some say up to $4 million to get enough signatures to compensate those that will invariably be disqualified for any number of reasons. (That happens with signatures during most citizen canvassing.)

But today isn’t a fundraising editorial. Or the rest of this won’t be. We’re trying to look ahead, to those who might oppose these initiatives, but don’t want to say the words I’m Against Government Transparency aloud. What, then, will be the excuses of those who vote “agin” come November?

In our crystal ball, which is cloudy enough on this subject, we see Dark Money funding commercials, either online or on TV, ginning up opposition by finding excuses.

One excuse, but only one, might be: Hey, there’s a $1,000 fine if my small-town mayor’s office (working without a secretary, because of the town’s small stature) misses an email with an FOI request. My mayor doesn’t get paid enough to handle that kind of thing. What kinda big-government/anti-small town stunt is this? (Cue a John Mellencamp song.)

Let’s nip that in the bud before we hear this excuse before the upcomin’ this fall: The wording of the act itself—you can find all this on the website—says a fine can be imposed if a custodian “purposely” withholds a public record, and a court has to find “clear and convincing evidence” of the deceit. Fines won’t be allowed for honest mistakes or an email getting lost in the spam folder.

But that’s just one excuse that, we’re sure, is coming.

Those who oppose transparency in government, but don’t want their constituents to hear them say that, will doubtless find others. We hope to hear them early enough to give Gentle Reader a fair warning, and an explanation. We’re going to proudly champion the initiatives on this matter for the next few months, being pro-FOIA in general and pro-Arkansas’ FOIA in specific.

Remember: There are those amongst us, sometimes representing We the People, who don’t like the mere public committing all this democracy. They’d just rather the public be more, er, “sedate,” and allow them to handle things. In other words, don’t worry your pretty little heads about government.

As long as those types are on the inside, or close to the inside, of government matters in this state, the surest policy for those of us who’d like to keep an eye on government ought to be:

En garde!