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Happy Sunshine Week: Transparency Report Cards, events in D.C., and advice for open government orgs
This year’s Sunshine Week is going on…right now! Here are some transparency news and notes to kick it off:
- Last month we had the opportunity to highlight some of the transparency tools that Sunlight Foundation used to give advocates a helping hand in their everyday advocacy work. One tool, Open States, yielded an interesting by-product, which Sunlight rolled out today – Transparency Report Cards for each state. The report cards show the accessibility of each state’s legislative website, and grades how easily information can be accessed. Only eight states received A grades, which means that 42 states have some considerable work to do.
- In other Sunshine Week happenings, there are two events taking place later this week that will be worth checking out if you happen to be in Washington D.C. On March 13-14, Common Cause will be hosting The Lessons of Watergate (which will also be streamed online; sign-up here for access), and on March 15 will be National Freedom of Information Day.
- Transparency advocate Martin Tisne wrote on his blog today that open government organizations can and should do more than just release data that they collect. He says that they should take some clear steps:
- Publish and be clear about how they see change happening as a result of the data/information they will ‘liberate’.
- Map the different steps through which that change may happen, and be explicit about where they see their own organization fitting
- This is the key bit I think – link up with other organizations that themselves are responsible for the other steps in the chain, and explore possible partnerships, seats on advisory boards, how to help them achieve their goals (but without necessarily deviating from their own core mission)
Keep an eye on SunshineWeek.org for all the events happening around the country, and follow them on Twitter at @SunshineWeek for more updates.
The state of open government, then and now
We want to highlight a couple of events coming up in March that take a look back at some of the historical events that got the ball rolling on needed transparency reforms, and also examine the current state of open government. (Both events will be held in Washington D.C., sorry to those not in the District!)
First, on March 13-14, Common Cause hosts a two day conference and reception, Lessons of Watergate, which will explore lessons learned from the Watergate scandal and their resonance in 2013, which marks the fortieth anniversary of the break-in. The impressive speaker lineup features former Representative, Senator, and Cabinet Secretary William Cohen, former prosecutor and Judiciary Committee member Elizabeth Holtzman, Pentagon Papers author Daniel Ellsberg, former Senator Russ Feingold, and Common Cause chairman Robert Reich.
Read the full press release (PDF), view the full schedule (PDF), and register here.
Next, on Friday, March 15 is the fifteenth annual National Freedom of Information Day. The one-day event will feature a keynote discussion by First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams, and author and law professor Ronald L.K. Collins (who recently wrote a book on Abrams). Our friends at OpenTheGovernment.org will also be presenting its 8th annual Sunshine Week examination of federal government openness, focusing on the outlook for President Obama’s second term.
If you can’t make it, there will be a live webcast of the event as well. For more information, visit the Newseum website.
Stream our Democracy Exchange with Sunlight Foundation
Miss our Democracy Exchange with Sunlight Foundation last week? You’re in luck! It’s now available to stream, with presentation and all!
Stream our Democracy Exchange with Amy Ngai of Sunlight Foundation
A huge thanks to Amy for giving demos and overviews of Sunlight’s transparency and opengov tools! Links to all the different sites are here:
- Open States- research legislative information on state level
- Capitol Words- search the Congressional Record
- Influence Explorer explore campaign finance, lobbying and other government data
- Docket Wrench- (new) tool that lets you identify influence in the regulatory process
- Scout- search and alert system
- TheyRule.net (built using Sunlight API)
- LittleSis.org (built using Sunlight API)
Sunlight Foundation demos their transparency tools this Thursday!
This is a reminder that our next Democracy Exchange is coming up later this week! Sign up here, and read more:
This month we’re teaming with the Sunlight Foundation to give a primer on some of the transparency tools they have developed. This will be a very exciting webinar showing some great tools that help everyday folks access the work of their governments and officials.
Amy Ngai, Sunlight’s Partnership & Training Manager will lead us through the available tools, how to use them, and introduce some of their new projects.
Unlike our previous Exchanges, getting the most out of this particular webinar will require computer access for the hour.
If you have any questions please contact me at blee@strongerdemocracy.org.
Here’s the info:
Democracy Exchange with Amy Ngai of Sunlight Foundation
Thursday, February 21, 2013 — 2pm ET
Here’s a list of what Sunlight will be covering on the call:
- Open States- research legislative information on state level
- Capitol Words- search the Congressional Record
- Influence Explorer explore campaign finance, lobbying and other government data
- Docket Wrench- (new) tool that lets you identify influence in the regulatory process
- Scout- search and alert system
Join us for our next Democracy Exchange on February 21 with Sunlight Foundation
We just wrapped up a great Democracy Exchange last month, and we’re right back on the horse! This month we’re teaming with the Sunlight Foundation to give a primer on some of the transparency tools they have developed. This will be a very exciting webinar showing some great tools that help everyday folks access the work of their governments and officials.
Amy Ngai, Sunlight’s Partnership & Training Manager will lead us through the available tools, how to use them, and introduce some of their new projects.
Unlike our previous Exchanges, getting the most out of this particular webinar will require computer access for the hour.
If you have any questions please contact me at blee@strongerdemocracy.org.
Here’s the info:
Democracy Exchange with Amy Ngai of Sunlight Foundation
Thursday, February 21, 2013 — 2pm ET
Here’s a list of what Sunlight will be covering on the call:
- Open States- research legislative information on state level
- Capitol Words- search the Congressional Record
- Influence Explorer explore campaign finance, lobbying and other government data
- Docket Wrench- (new) tool that lets you identify influence in the regulatory process
- Scout- search and alert system
Televise the Supreme Court?
Last week the Supreme Court heard three days of oral arguments over the Affordable Care Act. Over the course of the next few months, the Court will act entirely behind closed doors as they decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act (though in likelihood the Justices have already taken their vote), with a full decision coming in June.
Transparency can be a big step in changing the public’s view of the Court. Although the Court took steps to make audio recordings and transcripts of the health insurance hearings available the same day as arguments took place, cameras are still not allowed in the courtroom, and the Court declined a request from C-SPAN to broadcast the arguments over health insurance reform. However, media outlets have been more persistent in their calls for the Court to open its doors to cameras. Jules Witcover writes in the Chicago Tribune, arguing for broadcasting Supreme Court proceedings:
While virtually all other aspects of the American political system at work can today be observed directly by the citizenry, either live or on taped rebroadcast on television, the Supreme Court in session remains essentially in the dark. Hand-drawn sketches of the justices and lawyers must suffice because photographs also are prohibited.
A poll from this January by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 75% of the public believes that the Supreme Court Justices let their ideologies play a role in their decisions, and 59% believe that on this particular case, the judges will allow their own ideologies to sway their decision. Could more transparency move the public in their view of the Court?
Cameras in the courtroom will likely not go all the way in swaying the public’s opinion. However, it could be an important first step by showing the public what goes on in the highest court in the country, one in which a large majority of Americans will never set foot.
Most states at severe risk for corruption
This week the State Integrity Investigation released its final findings and scores. The investigation, headed by groups Global Integrity, Center for Public Integrity, and Public Radio International, looked into 330 different “corruption risk indicators” divided into 14 categories and used them to put together a final corruption risk grade for each state in the US. The categories deal with transparency, public access to information, ethics, judicial accountability, redistricting, and other areas.
Grades reflect the structures in place to prevent corruption, and the degree of access that the public has to these structures and mechanisms. Much of the grade, too, has to do with the “teeth” of the law, and what happens on the enforcement end. The end results and grades do not bode well for residents, as states overall have a long way to go in rooting out corruption.
Only four states nationwide received a grade of B or higher, while no states scored an A, and 8 states received F’s. More than half of the states, 26, received grades of D or F from the investigation. See each state’s final grades here.
What does this mean for democracy? It means that, by and large, states have not been doing a good job of presenting clear and open information for the public. Additionally, it means that the business of the people has been taking place largely behind closed doors, leaving considerable space for back-room deals and actions taken by officials that conflict with the public interest. Other reports have shown the areas in which corruption occurs the most (University of Illinois-Chicago Anti-Corruption Report, PDF), but even when laws and mechanisms are in place, corruption can and does happen. What matters more sometimes is how quickly offenders get caught, and how they are punished for their actions.
How can we push our states to enact tougher laws and, hopefully, improve their score for the next study? On each state’s page users can submit the scores to their representatives. Together, we can push our legislators to enact more stringent laws and structures to help root out corruption. It will require a large movement of the people because up until now, at least according to this thorough investigation, states have not been moving that much on their own.
Building a regional reform agenda in the Midwest
Last week, the Midwest Democracy Network, one of the Campaign’s organizing committee members, held its winter planning meeting in Chicago. Twice a year, the Midwest Democracy Network convenes its regional and national partners to discuss some of the current developments in democracy, the happenings on the ground in their states, and how best the groups can work together.
This time around, the Campaign was able to fully participate in the two day meeting. “Harnessing the moment and building a regional reform agenda” was the theme of the conference, and to that end, the organizations gathered in Chicago discussed the best ways to move forward, and lay out the regional priorities for the years ahead.
Some of the biggest takeaways from the meeting, via Campaign staff members Peter Hardie and Brandon Lee –
- The session on social media planning not only laid out the most effective ways to utilize social media, but it also laid the foundation for other program planning.
- Conversations that connect organizations with the political realities of democracy proved immensely helpful, and also opened up new questions. How do we choose a path forward as organizations, as a field, and as a movement? How does the movement grow and evolve?
- We looked deeper into the current developments of some more specific issues. In particular, we learned some of the finer points of state level redistricting, discussed the best ways forward to reduce the influence of bit money in politics, and increase campaign disclosure.
- We also learned more about one of the things the Campaign touched on late last year: how do we ensure that voters in 2012 go to their polling places with the things they need to vote? This means a photo ID, in many states. Eric Marshall of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, David Becker from Pew Center on the States, and Ruben Castilla Herrera of the Latin@ Action Circle and Nonprofit Vote all shared their insights on the best ways to reach out to voters as well as the resources organizations can tap into for November.
The Midwest Democracy Network is also preparing to bid farewell to its executive director, Leah Rush, later this year. The Network is currently conducting a search for a new director – for more information, please see this page.
For more about the Midwest Democracy Network, visit their website.
(Full disclosure: Brandon Lee, the Campaign’s communications coordinator, also serves as the communications and program coordinator for Midwest Democracy Network)
Introducing Campaign for Stronger Democracy’s new executive director, Peter Hardie
CSD executive director Peter Hardie
The Campaign for Stronger Democracy is delighted to announce the hiring of its new executive director, Peter Hardie. Peter has already begun his work at the Campaign, and brings with him extensive experience from both local and national electoral campaigns, in a variety of roles including field and leadership positions.
“There may be nothing more challenging than genuinely democratic communities; there is also nothing more transcendent, or more closely linked to our health and sustainability as a nation, indeed, as a global society,” said Peter. “The Campaign for Stronger Democracy is a community of folks from divergent fields and practices who all stand on this fundamental truth of democracy: the more the better. I can’t be more pleased and honored than to have been asked to lead this initiative.”
Peter recently completed a strategic thinking process with Demos/The American Prospect, and previously served as Executive Director of the Pushback Network, a national network of grassroots organizations developing electoral and voter engagement strategies for social change. Peter has also helped lead TransAfrica Forum, an international advocacy organization, and worked as a consultant to the Ford Foundation.
A graduate of Harvard University and labor and community activist upon leaving college, he helped shape many grassroots community initiatives around peace and justice, violence against women, youth involvement and public schools. He enjoyed teaching in a Boston public high school and working with activists on public school reform efforts. As a union member and staff person for a number of unions, he organized new members, negotiated contracts and addressed issues of workplace democracy.
Peter is also principal of Wayfinding Organizational Consulting, incorporating principles of community and discovery into the dynamics of organization, social justice and social impact.
“As father to a seventeen-year-old son, I know only too well the intrinsically human quest for democracy,” said Hardie. “We want to be heard. We want to shape and craft our surroundings. We want to grow, and we want others to grow alongside us. We want a stake, and a say.”
Stay tuned to the Campaign for Stronger Democracy blog, Facebook, and Twitter for future opportunities to engage with Peter and learn more about the Campaign.
Assessing the State of the Union
Photo via the White House
Now a couple of days removed from the 2011 State of the Union address, we take a look around at some of the reactions from the democracy arena:
- National Conference on Citizenship points out President Obama’s stressing of civic participation and public works as ways to jumpstart the country. NCoC brings the speech back to their report from 2011 on the connection between civic health and unemployment.
- The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights released a statement touching on the importance of closing the student opportunity gap; the loss of public sector jobs; and the pay gap between men and women, and women of color in particular.
- Public Campaign notes that the President pushed for an end to lobbyist bundling, which they say is a positive step. However, United Republic mentions that the President also receives bundled contributions, though not from lobbyists.
- Sunlight Foundation also touches on lobbying, saying that it is very unlikely for President Obama’s proposal from his speech to pass both houses of Congress. Instead, Sunlight suggests focusing on increasing lobbyist disclosure and tightening requirements for who must register as lobbyists.
- TechPresident has a rundown of some of the ways in which technology enhanced the State of the Union viewing experience, including the White House’s interactive feed, and twitter reactions.
- From ColorOfChange, executive director Rashad Robinson says that the organization applauds the creation of a governmental unit to investigate banks, but still demands full accountability from banks.
- In the Huffington Post, Sayu Bhojwani of the New American Leaders Project said that although President Obama spoke about the need for immigration reform, his actions so far in his presidency have not backed up what he has said.
- NoLabels pushed for Senators and representatives to sit together in the House during the speech. The New York Times reports that not many chose to intermingle with the other party (though most who did were Senators)
- In Nonprofit Quarterly, Rick Cohen examines the omission of the nonprofit sector from the speech.
- Research!America says that the President’s call for enhanced training in science and technology is a very positive development, but notes that funding must be preserved for progress to truly be made.
- Politico reports that one of the items President Obama spoke about in the speech, the STOCK Act, is coming closer to getting a vote and heading to the President for a signature. The bill would ban insider stock trading by members of Congress.
- Finally, Colorlines has word clouds for all three of President Obama’s State of the Union addresses.
Democracy Reform Headlines
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