Editorial
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Oct. 31, 2005
Excerpt:
The City Council — thinking that what’s good for the goose
is good for the gander — wants an exemption from the state’s open
government law, just like the state Legislature’s.The Council’s logic is twisted. What would be good for the public,
never mind a gaggle of political geese, is for the Legislature to obey
the law, too.Council members grumble that the state’s so-called “sunshine law” gets
in their way when they are supposedly doing the peoples’ business. To
that end, they are pushing a resolution to eliminate the law’s
requirements for themselves as well as other county councils and allow
each council to make up its own to fit its needs.That would eviscerate the state law that requires elected officials and
government agencies to conduct business in public and would further
shield elected officials from accountability.[…]
Politicians say the law makes their job difficult. Governing isn’t a
walk in the park and shouldn’t be. Nor should it be done in the
shadows, but in the hard glare of the public’s eyes. Those who can’t
stand the brightness ought to keep their names off the ballots.