Keep in mind, ‘Sunshine Laws’ belong to all

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January 19, 2010

Our opinion The Moultrie Observer Tue Jan 19, 2010, 10:16 PM EST

While visiting Moultrie recently, a candidate for state attorney general said one of his priorities would be to strengthen the Georgia Sunshine Laws.

Sam Olens promises to be a strong promoter of open government.

And this is a commendable stance on behalf of the candidate as it should be for any candidate for any state office.

Olens said he would work closely with journalists in this regard.

On that point, we journalists certainly thank Olens for his announced tenacity as a public watchdog. It reminds us of Mike Bowers, former attorney general, who indeed uplifted the concept of open government.

But let us be clear on something here. Open government is not just about journalists. Journalists have no special rights in this regard. Any citizen of this state have the same access as journalists. Olens did not imply that journalists were the first and foremost beneficiaries of open government, his remarks are clearly understood. However, much of the public often seems to misunderstand that they have as much right to public records as do journalists. It just happens to be a consistent tool of our trade that might make it look otherwise. As well, it’s generally the journalists who lead the fights for stronger laws and who often have to file lawsuits to attain things that rightfully already belong to them. The Georgia Press Association pounds these issues routinely.

For those who don’t know, the term “Georgia Sunshine Laws” is an umbrella phrase that covers the Georgia Open Records laws and the Georgia Open Meetings laws. And from this phrase comes another, “government in the sunshine.”

Quite often candidates speak loudly about open government until after they get elected and not-so-surprisingly they become less the poster child for such a cause. Funny how it works that way.

It’s difficult to get the general public aroused and passionate about open government until their ox in the ditch.

We should hope that all the candidates for attorney general will embrace a high profile on open government because we often see lawmakers who would like to weaken those laws and reduce the transparency. One does not have to think much more than a couple of layers deep to imagine why some of them would like to close doors. Yes, we do need watchdogs. Trust is not enough. We must verify.

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