We must keep government work in open

There are two kinds of governments: those that are driven by the people, from the bottom up, and those that are run by rulers, from the top down.

There is an adage that knowledge is power. When it comes to representative government, knowledge of what government officials are doing protects the power of the people. Knowledge is what keeps dictators at bay. People have to be able to see what their representatives in government are doing or those representatives will begin operating in their own best interests.

Since 2005, this has been the time of year when the American Society of Newspaper Editors observes national Sunshine Week, a celebration of access to public information. It coincides with the March 16 birthday of James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution and a key advocate of the Bill of Rights.

Sunshine Week is championed by newspaper editors, but it’s designed for everyone. Its focus is on open-meetings laws and public-records laws used every day by the press to shine a light on how government works - or doesn’t work. Everyone, not just the press, has a stake in open government, and everyone can play a role in protecting our heritage as an open and free society.

Meetings take place every day that have the potential to change the lives of people. Locally there are city councils, township trustees, school boards, county commissioners, boards of elections, boards of health, port authorities and others.

In Columbus, in addition to the General Assembly, there are dozens of state agencies charged with running our prisons, responding to disasters, protecting against environmental hazards and generally providing for the public health and safety.

The court system provides for justice in civil and criminal matters and holds judges, prosecutors and lawyers to ethical standards. The need for police departments and criminal courts to operate in the open was recognized by the Founders who knew something about the historical injustice of star chambers and coerced confessions.

While we are centuries removed from the Star Chamber, we don’t have to look far to find public officials who find it more convenient to operate behind closed doors.