Washblog

This is a very troubling proposition. If this argument prevails, people who work, pay taxes, support their families and volunteer in their communities would not be permitted to either choose their elected officials by casting a vote or seek to hold those officials accountable for their public acts. If their children attend public school, they would be unable to request records to determine whether the school is complying with state academic standards or following safety requirements; they would be unable to seek information about a potentially dangerous building projects in their neighborhoods; they would not be allowed to ask for information about hazardous abandoned property in their communities; they would be unable to even ask for the minutes of city council hearings or the voting records of their elected officials.

The Public Records Act was adopted by the people of the State of Washington as a means of ensuring that the actions of our public officials are open to public scrutiny and that they are accountable to all of the people that they serve. The Act has never been limited to use by people who can vote. Minors, non-citizens, corporations, advocacy groups and people who choose not to vote or even to register to vote have always been permitted to submit public records requests. The identity of the requestor has never been a limiting factor in how public records are released.

Public records should be just that - public. The right of the people to oversee their government should not be restricted.

Jennifer Shaw
Deputy Director
American Civil Liberties Union of Washington