The bipartisan Open Government Caucus (OGC), led by a Seattle Democrat and an East Wenatchee Republican, hit the ground running at its first meeting this week. The caucus is co-chaired by Rep. Gerry Pollet, the Democrat, and Rep. Brad Hawkins, the Republican. They want to breathe new life into the work toward transparency and accountability on the part of elected officials and government staff.
Headlining the meeting was a Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee (LEAP) staff presentation about their new online map that displays fiscal projects — the state’s capital and transportation budgets, for instance — by county and legislative district. Bipartisan legislation approved and signed into law last year directed that LEAP set up this new tool to allow interested citizens to evaluate and keep track of these fiscal projects.
Newspapers around the state (the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, the Olympian/News Tribune in Olympia/Tacoma, and the Columbian in Vancouver) have editorialized, reported, and blogged lately about the principles of open government, transparency and accountability.
The next Open Government Caucus meeting is noon to 1 on Monday, Feb. 17. These OGC meetings are always open to everyone, and they’re held in Room B-18 in the basement of the John L. O’Brien Building on the Capital Campus here in the state capital. Staff from the nonpartisan William D. Ruckelshaus Center will be featured at the Feb. 17 meeting, joining the conversation about the importance of open government.