For the past seven years, I have volunteered my time, energy, and expertise to serve on numerous committees, councils, working groups, and boards assembled by local governments. I have also participated as a community activist in coalitions advocating for community oversight of police surveillance techniques, prison planning and policy, housing funding programs, and more.
These experiences have taught me a lot about the important role transparency plays in the healthy operation of local government.
ohio sunshine law Outline your rights As Ohioans, it means we must have access to public records, meetings, decisions, and policies. It also outlines the obligation of public officials to create and keep records, make them publicly accessible, and open their meetings, decisions, and deliberations to public scrutiny, or “work in the sun.”
But while government transparency is a law, a right, and a duty of public officials, it is also much more than that. Over the past seven years, I have learned that government transparency is important.…
… enable democratic government. Authoritarian governments control the public narrative through propaganda and keep voters in the dark about how the government is actually run. Democratic governments can also use “propaganda-like” tactics to help public officials sell decisions and actions they want the public to support. However, government cannot function effectively if its members rely solely on government marketing. Voters must be able to understand how the government operates and how public decisions are made, even if this learning makes the government look bad. Only then can democracy survive.
…protects us from corruption. The concept of the Sunshine Act is based on the idea that transparency (“sunlight”) can act as a “disinfectant” and prevent corruption (“germs”) from growing in secret. But transparency doesn't just protect community members from government corruption. It can also protect ethical public servants working in the public interest when they face systemic pressures that threaten the integrity of public decisions. In some cases, transparency can be a public official's best friend.
…bringing better public policy. Public policy is not always developed to advance the public interest or with the involvement of voters and individuals with relevant lived experience. But when honest attempts are made to involve community members in the development of public policy, the resulting policies are almost always better for those directly affected. Both the City of Dayton and Montgomery County websites agree that “openness” “gives citizens better information, which leads to better government and better public policy.”
…promotes trust and cooperation. You've probably heard how important it is to trust and work with our government. However, an often overlooked factor that influences how much local residents trust their government is how public officials respond to requests for access to official documents and public meetings. When public officials distrust their own constituents and prevent access to public information, distrust in government is inevitable. By making meetings and records public, public officials can demonstrate their credibility and show us (the voters) that they trust us.
Government is not transparent just the law, our rights, or the obligations of public officials. Government transparency provides an opportunity to create the trust between local residents and public officials necessary to create the healthier, more collaborative, and democratic government we all desire. I would love to grab it!
Julio C. Mateo is a Dayton resident, human rights activist, human factors psychologist, member of the Civil Defense Coalition, and a University graduate. Journalism laboratory.
