Marc Dann and the public's right to know: A man on a mission
This guy is on a mission.
To stem what he sees as rampant abuse of the state's Sunshine Laws, Dann wants to "create an environment that people know that if they get caught, they're going to be embarrassed."
"Embarrassment is a tool. It will deter bad conduct."
Dann isn't naïve. He knows he can't stop all bureaucrats from hindering the public's right to know.
"It's like drug dealers," he said. "Will we stop every drug deal? No. But if there's a chance they're going to get caught, there's a likelihood that they won't sell drugs in that neighborhood."
Welcome to Mr. Dann's neighborhood.
In just three months on the job, he has already called out Ohio State University officials, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the former governor. And he has extended the retention period for government e-mail, giving the public more time to review it.
On Tuesday, Dann surprised Capitol Square when he asked for the resignations of three members of the state board that regulates utility companies. Why? The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio members were nominated and selected in secret, the attorney general said, in violation of the state's Sunshine Laws.
In the past, many officials remained silent about decisions made in private (and then rubber-stamped in public). Their inaction condoned the practice, but Dann appears determined to change the culture of secrecy.
Some have accused him of playing politics. Predictably, Dann said that's bunk.
"This is not a partisan issue. It's about how government works best. The stuff at workers' comp -- the scandal stuff -- would have been less likely to happen had we had a commitment to open government (in Ohio). I should not have had to sue to get the investment records of BWC."
Neither should have The Dispatch, but it did. We felt it was necessary to tell Ohioans how money allocated to help injured workers was being invested, and scofflaw bureaucrats forced us to wage a legal fight to do so.
Dann is married to a former newspaper reporter. He has a soft spot in his heart for the public's right to know, but he said his wife, Alyssa, didn't put it there.
"This is not about newspapers," he said. "It's about the public's right. (Openness) is the best way to operate government. People behave differently behind closed doors than they do in a public setting."
About a month ago, when Dann heard that Ohio State University's Board of Trustees planned to select its next chairman in private through secret ballot, he intervened. He ordered Christopher Culley, OSU's general counsel, to make certain that the vote was held in public. This should be a wake-up call to all universities and keepers of the public's records.
"We've got to send a strong message that the process has to occur in the open and, if it doesn't, we're going to take action," Dann said. "Even if it's uncomfortable."
He believes that too many public officials have encouraged their staffs to put the burden of proof on citizens to demonstrate that a record is public. They have it backward, he said.
"What people don't understand is there's no penalty for over-complying in most of these cases," he said. "Why don't they comply? Public officials haven't placed a value on openness. That's the tradition we've had."
Dann hopes that the public comes to appreciate the value of public records and public meetings.
"They're the owners of the company and, as owners of the state of Ohio, it is their business what we do. What I do in your name ought to be important to you."
Benjamin J. Marrison is editor of The Dispatch.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 9:18 PM
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