Imagine, for a moment, that you are an employer who hires workers, has expectations for how they will perform their jobs,and then pays them for their efforts. Now imagine that when you ask an employee for copies of their work emails or their schedule from the previous week, they decline. Imagine they say the information is “privileged” or is basically “none of your business.”
Absurd, right? Yet that is the approach often adopted by lawmakers when it comes to public records inquiries — as demonstrated when The Associated Press recently undertook a nationwide project requesting emails and schedules for legislative leaders and governors. In Washington, all four legislators declined to release the information, while Gov. Jay Inslee released some emails and his daily schedules.
At issue is the extent to which lawmakers are exempt from the state’s Public Disclosure Act. In other words, at issue is how beholden lawmakers should be to their employers — the taxpaying public. When in doubt, legislators should err on the side of openness; the public’s right to know the inner workings of government should be sacrosanct in a representative democracy. Not only is it essential to effective governance and an informed electorate, it also is important for building and reinforcing trust among the populace. In an age when frustration, distrust and even anger toward elected officials are a common theme among voters, ensuring open government is particularly important.
At times, there is some gray area. Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, noted that keeping emails exempt from records laws allows whistleblowers to contact lawmakers without fear of being exposed or facing retaliation. “We handle domestic violence, we have whistleblowers,” he said.
