Incrementally, in fits and starts since 2010, the D.C. government has become more transparent to the people it serves. In response to the Fenty administration’s attempts to evade meaningful public oversight, and corruption scandals ensnaring high elected and appointed officials and political operatives, the D.C. Council enacted a new Open Meetings Act (OMA) and created the independent Office of Open Government (OOG) to enforce that law and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
For five years, the OOG has fielded complaints about closed meetings and denied FOIA requests — sometimes siding with agencies, others with requesters. It has helped government employees and appointed officials be more transparent, and when necessary ordered them to comply with the laws. Last year, it obtained a Superior Court order against an appointed board that repeatedly refused to inform the public about its meetings. Read more…