ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

September 29 letter to Whatcom County:

The excellent op-ed in The Northern Light by George Erb, secretary of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, explains why Public Records Act requests are important for citizen oversight of their public officials. As Erb notes, 

"Embracing transparency would help Blaine City Hall escape the volatile climate that has engulfed it...City officials, starting with mayor Mary Lou Steward, should follow the letter and the spirit of the state Public Records Act...Dismissing records requests as a nuisance completely misses the vital role they play in our civic life. For 53 years, the Public Records Act has proven itself, again and again, as one of our most effective accountability and transparency tools."

The controversy created by the mayor is due to city policies developed over the last three years that deprive Blaine citizens of information and a voice. Banning free speech and hiding documents from the public while intimidating those who 1) speak out against this institutional injustice, and 2) seek legislative remedies to this ethics deficiency in Blaine's city government is a perverted official response.

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