From the Gaston Gazette (6/22/10): Open government means transparency and accountability. In some quarters, however, the description would also appear to include convenience and politics.
Published reports say that state Sen. Dan Clodfelter has planted himself in the path of groundbreaking open government legislation as it makes its way through the Judiciary I Committee. The Mecklenburg County Democrat cites his apprehension about people seeking public records for less-than-pure motives, such as political gamesmanship. His solution involves some method of distinguishing “legitimate” requests from the allegedly fraudulent.
For a resident of NASCAR’s stomping grounds, Sen. Clodfelter seems to have trouble recognizing a red flag.
The idea of filtering public records requests raises one immediate question — namely, who does the filtering? Giving that responsibility to an elected official or employee of the agency in question could equate to putting foxes on guard duty at the henhouse. It essentially asks the public to believe the notion that government will weed out purported hacks without ever abusing the process to protect its own interests.