Gov. Mark
Sanford said this week that allowing the public to see what goes on
in Cabinet meetings interferes with the "sausage-making process."
That, we think, is baloney.
Sanford, who campaigned on a platform of promoting "sunshine" as
the best way to make government accountable to the people, now seems
ready to close the blinds. The public and press were barred from his
first Cabinet meeting Wednesday.
"I have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of South
Carolina to produce good sausage," Sanford said. "The media, with
all due respect, adds little value to the actual sausage-making
process."
Sanford went on to explain that he thought disclosure should
occur only after the debate is over and public officials have come
up with "a final product."
This may be not only ill-advised but also illegal. The state
Freedom of Information Act says appointed panels, including those
working in an advisory capacity, are public bodies required to hold
open meetings.
Sanford said he thinks closed meetings promote lively discussion
that might be squelched if cameras and reporters were in the room.
That may well be; people often say things in private that they
wouldn't say publicly.
But does that promote better government? FOI laws function to
ensure that government officials, including Cabinet members, are
accountable to the public they serve. If they are permitted to
conduct the public's business behind closed doors, the public has no
way of gauging the influence of special interests or how public
officials reached a certain conclusion. Process, in many respects,
is as important as the final product.
Even members of the governor's own party have been critical of
his decision to close his first Cabinet meeting. Senate President
Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said he would be more
comfortable with matters being handled in public.
The question for the governor and his Cabinet is, what have you
got to hide? And if they have nothing to hide, why not hold open
meetings?
We'll pass on Sanford's brand of sausage. And, by the way, we
like our eggs sunny side up.
| In summary |
|
What do the governor and his Cabinet have to hide?
|
