Former Georgia Chief Justice Norman Fletcher didn’t give much thought to open government before joining the Supreme Court. Rather, Fletcher says he was focused largely on governments obeying the law.
Then came an epiphany of sorts, Fletcher says, thanks to the mentorship of fellow Justice Charles L. Weltner.
“I consider him my primary mentor on the court,” Fletcher said of the late Weltner in a recent interview. “He was a great believer in openness in government and the First Amendment. Being a disciple of Weltner, I fell into the same role.”
Also influencing Fletcher was something called the Georgia Constitution, which says: “Because public men and women are amenable ‘at all times’ to the people, they must conduct the public’s business out in the open.”
Cohorts in promoting open government, Fletcher and Weltner ruled in 1990 to open up University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley’s income records and in the 1991 Steele v. Honea case decided that elected officials could be recalled for conducting public business in secret. Fletcher wrote, concurring with Weltner in the Honea case, that if there is “any question whatsoever” whether a meeting should be open to the public, “DO NOT CLOSE.”
As blatant aberrations of government-in-the-sunshine prevail on the state and local levels, state and local officials with the authority to intervene and force lawbreakers to cease and desist have opted instead to not be decent leaders. In addition to the City of Albany and Dougherty County Board of Education, the cross-partisan duo of Gov. Sonny Perdue and Attorney General Thurbert Baker has not been friends of open government.
But, really, how important is open government in the scheme of things, particularly when critical issues like education, crime and the economy dominate the legislative landscape?
If you ask us – and Fletcher, we suppose — it’s everything.
Certainly it was to Weltner.
When Weltner’s son’s middle school congress closed its sessions to the student body, Weltner encouraged his son to challenge the rule. Charles Jr., now an attorney, received a crash course from his father in the Georgia’s sunshine laws and after a debate Charles’ class voted and open government came to his middle school.
How decent!
Open government advocacy is in desperate need of legislative and administrative leadership – statewide and locally. The reasons are many, but the basic one is this, as Weltner instilled in his home and on the state bench: It’s the right thing to do. Besides, decisions made by government officials are paid for with our money.
Now more than ever, the people need to keep tabs of their government. And with the forecast for sunshine in government looking pretty gloomy, we are paying particular attention to the political races this summer and fall to see if anyone gets it that good government is direly dependent on transparency.
By Kevin Hogencamp
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