Sunshine Week, ever heard about it? I did and then I did something stupid. I forgot about it. Sunshine Week is a national initiative by news editors to inform citizens why it is important to have an open government and the results of unnecessary secrecy. Sunshine Week this year was from March 13-19, which puts me somewhat behind the old proverbial Eight Ball, especially since this fine paper received a Maine press award for writing articles about the federal Freedom of Information Act some years ago.

Make no mistake about it, there are instances where national security is of the utmost importance and I know that from serving in an intelligence agency for five years during my military career. But what I fear the most is that all levels of government are fully capable of hiding those actions when they feel it is in their own best interest and to Hell with our right to know those decisions were made in private. I came to that decision when I had to go numerous times to the White House during the infamous Watergate Affair.

The Freedom of Information Act has some serious flaws and the most serious one is that any level of government does not have to make a document to satisfy someone’s request for information. The most important part of that equation is how do we as a private citizen know that such a document exists in the first place, which allows government officials to hide what they want to. After all, aren’t we living in the very country which is supposed to be open and free?

Just look at the governor of Maine, Paul LePage, who signed an executive order which prohibits us from requesting what goes on in his newly formed Business Advisory Council. LePage stated that the members of that group should be free to say what they want without pressure from the media or public. I say that is bunk, pure and simple.

What worries me even more is the recent disclosure of the spending by the Maine Turnpike Authority and the years of a lack of oversight by our governor and Legislature. It makes me wonder what is next as far as our state government throwing our tax dollars into the wind. When the former head of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services stated that double payments to hospitals in Maine were made, I wonder who made that decision. It appears criminal to me and it should be immediately investigated by the LePage administration.

I have done numerous Freedom of Information requests and what bothers me is that some appear to have been created, rather than already established. In the past I requested payroll information on school and municipal employees and the information I received was almost to the point of being useless. The Windham town staff has different responses as to the cost of those information requests, which shows me something is lacking in leadership.

One department charges an almost exorbitant amount while others charge nothing and that is not right. But then again, this is Windham and it doesn’t surprise me at all. Unfortunately the government does not have to tell you the cost of researching and printing documents unless the cost goes over $20 (per Maine’s website on the Freedom of Access Act).

It is apparent that our government must become even more open. Although elected officials at all levels promise an open government, in the end they fail to deliver on many of their promises. I remember, along with others, when four candidates promised at the Little Meeting House in North Windham that the Windham town government would operate in the open. Those four were elected and yet they approved some council items with no discussion in public. One even stated before a vote on an agenda item how the vote would go and there was no workshop on that item.

Lane Hiltunen of Windham believes elected officials are always right. Just ask them.