It makes self-government in Wyoming exceedingly difficult when government doesn’t communicate with citizens. Opaque agencies that refuse to let citizens know what they are doing, and turn a deaf ear toward citizens’ input, risk accusations of secrecy, subterfuge and conspiracy.
Lord knows, I’ve been plenty tough on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, their rhetoric and their model of governance since the Cowboy State chapter of this D.C. club was first established here. But they’ve scooped up enough legislative seats to numerically move the needle in Cheyenne, and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.
It’s a new ball game, and Freedom Caucus politicians have won enough starting positions to field a team, so let’s see how they perform.
I seem to recall that a cornerstone of the Freedom Caucus’ game plan is government transparency. Yep, I’m sure of it — I’ve heard with my own ears Freedom Caucus candidates thump the drum for openness in government, and real citizen participation in their government’s operation.
This populist idea fits my pistol, too.
While it’s true that a couple of the Freedom Caucus transparency cheerleaders lost their elections — Reps. Sarah Penn and Jeannette Ward — enough new rookies were added to the roster to make a difference on the field. I, for one, sincerely hope that Freedom Caucus’ zeal for transparency in government is in no way diminished, and that they put their legislative votes where their rhetoric is.
Leo Wolfson’s recent piece about the ongoing City Drug saga in Cheyenne reminds us all that there remains a lot of work to do to make government in Wyoming transparent and responsive to us citizens.
The first and most critical step in self-government is for the governed to know what is being done in their name and on their behalf by public officials.
For this reason, the Wyoming Public Records Act (statute 16-4-201-205) was enacted years ago. I’ve ranted before that the WPRA, while noble in concept, isn’t getting the intended job done. The act as written is soft and full of waffle language, and it lacks the punitive teeth necessary to discourage violation.
Wyoming citizens deserve transparency in government, and to get it, the WPRA needs to be re-visited, revised and given some real muscle. Otherwise, this great idea falls short of its goal, and is little more than window dressing.
I’ve previously said that the easiest, most honest way to accomplish this would be to make all of Wyoming’s public records (except for our nuclear secrets and the names of spies we have on the Colorado State University campus, of course) available on an easily-searchable public database. No ifs, ands, buts or bureaucratic middlemen...if you want a public record, you just query the database, and it’s yours.
But there are likely a few ways to skin this cat, and I hope the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, with all its newfound power, is thinking about them. I hope they are more than just big talk.
If they are serious about government transparency, then they have a stalwart ally in yours truly. If the Wyoming Freedom Caucus wants to shred all the veils of government secrecy, then I’ll pull my weight in the trenches with ‘em.
I won’t learn their fight song, shower with ‘em or drink their Gatorade, but when it comes to the tussle over government transparency, I’ll leave my skin on the field with theirs.
If they love sunshine as much as I do, then let’s get it on! This’ll be a day game. Kick-off is high noon, January 14.
