Chihak: Stonewalled by gov't? Talk to this guy
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Pat Shannahan says the new state law that makes his office the arbiter of disputed public records requests is working just fine.
In fact, he's so confident about it that he appeared in front of a group of Arizona newspaper editors and publishers last month at the Arizona Newspapers Association convention to talk about it.
Shannahan is Arizona's ombudsman and citizens' aide, the officially designated man inside state government to help citizens who run into problems with their government.
His office, as of January, includes the public access program, approved last year by the Arizona Legislature at the urging of the media and others interested in open government.
Turns out that the media aren't the only ones interested. Since it began operations, the public access counselor in the ombudsman's office has received most of its inquiries from ordinary citizens.
The total as of Sept. 20, the last date through which Shannahan provided numbers, was 131 requests from citizens for mediation of their public records request or open government meeting issues.
That's 64 percent of the 205 inquiries.
The second most inquiries have come from governmental agencies or individuals in government - 56 inquiries, or 27 percent. The media are last, with 18 inquiries or 9 percent.
Of the 205 inquiries, 153 were for public records and 52 were about open meetings.
Shannahan hired two people, one a lawyer, to handle the inquiries. He began establishing educational programs and a system for handling complaints.
Under state law, records of government operations and procedures are largely public. But sometimes, public officials don't want to give them up.
That's where the public access counselor comes in, and to hear Shannahan tell it, it's going well. He cited a couple of examples to support his claim.
One involved a University of Arizona student seeking Tucson Police Department records of stolen vehicles for a journalism class.
"The police hemmed and hawed for two weeks and gave a minimal response," Shannahan said. The student filed a complaint with his office.
"So we had our lawyer and their lawyer do the attorney talk thing," he said. "In a couple of days, she got the electronic database that she wanted."
His office doesn't track how many inquiries result in released records, because the law doesn't specificy that.
But, Shannahan said, "I haven't seen any (cases) where the agency has refused to follow our recommendation."
And that's the rub, which may mean a return next year or two to amend the law to give it some enforcement teeth.
Currently, the public access counselor mediates, not representing either the inquiring party or the governmental agency that isn't releasing its records.
The Legislature could improve openness in government by making the counselor an advocate for the public.
Reach Michael A. Chihak at 573-4646 or mchihak@tucsoncitizen.com
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