Six Cuyahoga County Council members-elect are already failing to uphold their campaign pledges for greater government transparency.

These six members-elect met in a closed meeting this past Friday to decide on who will serve as the new council president. This is the same behavior they promised to leave in the past prior to elections according to their own words, which was reported in the Dealer-Cleveland.com Voter Guide questionnaire. You can read them for yourself here.

Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich (R) is not shy about explaining why he’ll post resumes of public job candidates: because he’s being forced to.

Kasich solicited resumes for 4,700 state government jobs, including some high-ranking positions.

He feels that the fact that the hiring process will be public will prevent him from filling all of those jobs. “Why have I felt strongly about this?” Kasich asked reporters. “Well, let me tell you why. When a person applies for another job, it doesn’t make their current employer happy.” He continued:

“Maybe the people that demand all of this openness ought to think about how they want their kids treated. Do they want their kids to be jeopardized because they’re trying to improve themselves and look for another job?”

Kasich was originally arguing that because an external, non-government organization was keeping the resumes, they did not fall under the Freedom of Information Act. But after talking with his lawyer, Kasich realized that it was a fight he was going to lose and has decided to make the resumes public.

The Cincinnati City County held a closed door meeting last week to discuss important spending motions. The process is being described as “ramming through [motions] without any public debate.”

One newspaper is taking matters into its own hands. The Enquirer is suing Mayor Mark Mallory and the City Council, claiming the officials have purposefully circumvented Ohio’s Open Meeting Law to pass allocations for the $20 million a year in casino revenues set to start in 2013.

Apparently, Mayor Mallory has been conducting “round robin”, meeting with small groups of council members to avoid the formal label of “meeting,” which would make the get-togethers public records under the law.

This isn’t the only case of closed meetings in Cincinatti. Other important funding allocations have been decided at closed-door meetings.

More on Ohio open government:
*Ohio Open Meetings Law
*Ohio Open Records Law
*Ohio on Sunshine Review

The Buckeye Institute of Ohio continues its call for transparency, asking 1,400 candidates for office to sign their transparency pledge. The meat of the pledge cites specific objectives for transparency in every level of government.

I acknowledge and state that, at a minimum, the following items must be maintained on a Web site operated by each government entity:
• Financial data shall include all contracts, the checkbook register, all budgets, collective
bargaining agreements, payroll, all financial audits, and all taxes, fees and other revenues
collected by each government entity.
• Administrative data shall include, with sufficient advance time to comply with notice
requirements and to be useful to the citizens served, notices of meetings and agendas, with
supporting documentation; minutes of meetings, both in draft and approved form; contact
information for elected and appointed officials, including email contact information;
performance audits; a database of voting records; ethics, lobbying and conflict of interest
disclosures.
• Public records process data shall include a public records policy, a record retention schedule,
contact information for public records response personnel, and any forms used, in addition to
regular reports on response times, completeness and other public records performance data
such as number of requests made.
• Jurisdiction and compliance data shall include any relevant constitutions, charters,
intergovernmental agreements, bylaws and other fundamental documents.

Check out Buckeye’s Ohio Sunshine wiki to see the candidates vowing to show you how they spend your money.

A while back, I wrote a post on presidential candidates taking a stand on transparency with tax dollars, so it didn’t surprise me when I started seeing down-ballot campaigns begin to use open government as a key plank in their platforms. I thought I would begin to randomly post the ideas from campaigns as I come across them. Please note that the posting has nothing to do with party or support from me or the Sam Adams Alliance, but merely should serve as an example of some of the ideas being batted about this election season.

Robert Owens, Independent for Ohio Attorney General, was the first AG candidate to sign Buckeye’s Transparency Pledge. Owens is discussing the need for more openness in state contracts.

Side Note: You can hear my podcast interview discussing Buckeye’s new Transparency Center with Mike Maurer here.

Colorado’s race for Eagle County Commissioner has at least one candidate addressing the need for transparency. The Aspen Times printed a letter to the editor from Debbie Buckley that stated the following:

I believe the county should increase the effort to be transparent by making expenditures available and understandable through the county website. The data should be searchable within categories and be accompanied by a very brief explanation.

True transparency must include ready access to reliable, comprehensive, timely and easily understandable information on spending. Active participation of Eagle County citizens will depend on the ease of use of this system.

Transparency: Less taxpayer dollars spent, More taxpayer faith in government.

File this under No Taxation Without Information…

Ohio’s Buckeye Institute launched its Center for Transparent and Accountable Government this week. Former reporter Mike Maurer will gather and publish budgets, contracts, information on how to access to public records, and other data to show Ohio taxpayers where their money is being spent.

The Center’s two key components are a transparency wiki called OhioSunshine.org, and a candidate transparency pledge. Buckeye’s press release states:

Buckeye Institute President David Hansen said that open, easily available information is essential to good government.

“The legitimacy of Ohio government rests on the consent of the governed, but that consent doesn’t mean much when so much of government occurs hidden, or deeply buried,” Hansen said. “Twenty-First Century information technology should be applied to draw back the curtain that stands between government and the people.”

More information can be found at Thurber’s Thoughts, FOI FYI, Kentucky Progress, and Cleveland.com.

Personal responsibility transparency. Catchy, eh? Phil Kidd, Downtown Director of Events and Special Projects for the city of Youngstown, OH, has taken matters into his own bloggy hands and has been tracking his taxpayer-paid time online here.

I hope this spurs a movement for more transparency from individual government employees and agencies. More transparency, less corruption. Thanks for setting the example, Mr. Kidd.

Another leader in Ohio’s transparency movement: The Buckeye Institute

H/T: Progress Pittsburgh

Here’s my transparency weekend round-up:

Connecticut: The bill I mentioned here became law last week with Gov. Jodi Rell’s signature on the steps of the Capitol, where she took her oath of office. The legislation allowing a judge to reduce or revoke the pension of a corrupt public official will go into effect October 1. More from Newsday.com.

Ohio: The Buckeye Institute released a podcast with Americans for Prosperity’s Jack Boyle that discusses transparency and fiscal restraint.

Pennsylvania: Legislation advanced in the Senate to require all taxpayer-funded advertising to include the dislaimer “Paid for with Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars.” Read more here.

Louisiana: Indicted Congressman William Jefferson defies ethics advocates by running for re-election.

Hope you’re looking forward to another great week of transparency reporting.