As stated in the preamble to the Brown Act, our state’s open government law: “The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”
In the last few weeks, the city of San Diego has experienced two major failures in providing the public with open and transparent government.
First, the Balboa Park Celebration Inc. committee was given city tax dollars to put together a 2015 centennial celebration. It received $450,000 in 2011 and another $2.3 million in 2013 to stage the event, but there is nothing to celebrate. The committee has nothing to show for all the money spent and is closing its doors and leaving behind a big mess. Worse, when originally asked by the public and media to provide records, they argued they did not have to because they were a private organization. The arrogance of this response was not lost on the public, and litigation was threatened to gain access. The committee finally began providing some records, but only after the threat of litigation. Continue>>>
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