Boston City Council has been culture of resistance when it comes to public disclosure and accountability. A new City Council President, even one promising transparency and openness, can't easily alter or affect that culture of resistance.
Continuing to deflect enquiries for the stenographic machine record of the public meeting of Boston City Council violates the spirit of open government.
Be concerned every time a single bureaucrat in an isolated circumstance violates or hampers the public's right to access or information. When it becomes the practice and custom in a government organization, those concerned are multiplied. Far too many governmental entities - - local, state, regional and federal- - are serial violators of disclosure and access laws. That's a huge concern.
Self government doesn't work when governments operate behind closed doors and under cloaks of secrecy. Assuming people want a government that is honest and effective, and one that works for their best interest, they need access to information that allows them to hold that government accountable. It simply doesn't work any other way.
see Ken Bunting
at
http://seattlepostglobe.org/2011/01/14/on-eve-of-open-government-conference-former-p-i-exec-gives-his-views-on-secrecy
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