Electoral Sunshine

From North Carolina and Washington come two effective examples of how candidates at all levels of government — national, state and local — can be held accountable for their positions regarding government transparency and public access to information.

"The primary and general election seasons have seen a marathon of news reporting on the candidates. Thus far, both campaigns seem obsessed with convincing the electorate that their candidate would be the better commander-in-chief for the military. But which candidate better understands the importance of preserving freedom of the press?" wrote Napoleon Byars, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill and a former Air Force public affairs officer in a column published by The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

"The Framers of the Constitution championed a free and vigorous press, declaring that it is essential for citizens to make informed decisions about the future of the Republic," Byars wrote. "Are we better informed today than we were eight years ago? If not, we are largely to blame for a lack of information. We need to get serious about holding whoever takes the presidential oath in the future accountable. The Constitution depends on it."

Read the entire column on The News & Observer Web site.

Sunshine Week has contacted the Obama and McCain campaigns several times since October 2007 asking for their responses to a brief Sunshine Campaign Questionnaire about open government issues. Neither has responded.

Earlier candidates who did complete the survey were Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D). Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) responded in part.

Looking at candidates for state and local offices, the Washington Coalition for Open Governmentconducted a survey of candidates' position on access issues. The spreadsheet, including links to the completed responses, is posted online.

Toby Nixon, WCOG president, told Sunshine Week that the project began in 2007. Questions were based on the coalition's legislative agenda. The list of candidates 584 candidates — 273 local, 273 state legislative and 38 state executive-branch candidates — was merged from filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission, which includes state and local candidates, and the the Secretary of State, which lists only state candidates.

"We gave all candidates about three weeks to respond before posting the initial responses on our Web site and announcing the posting in a news release, but we will continue to post additional responses as they arrive," Nixon reported. "So far, 75 responses have been received — not as good a response rate as we had hoped for, but not bad for our first effort. Our hope is that as editorial boards make use of the information and candidates are asked why they have not responded, we will receive more responses this year and in future years."

Sunshine Campaign materials — including print, online and broadcast ads — will be available online through the November elections in the Sunshine Campaign Toolkit.