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Though we needed no reminders, the latest outrages out of Washington have proven that would-be dictators and their empowered henchmen will seek to shut down free speech and hide their misdeeds whenever they can.
But fortunately in Connecticut, government by and for the people has remained much healthier because there are heroes ensuring that our state and municipal meetings, records and officials remain open and accessible and the freedom to speak -- to critique and criticize -- remains robust.
I am on the board of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government, which for more than three decades has sought to educate the public about the vital need for freedom of information and, as part of that effort, to honor its champions. We are journalists, lawyers, professors, state and local officials and others dedicated to the notion, as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously asserted, "If the broad light of day could be let in upon men's actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects."
We know -- and we want the public to know -- that open government benefits liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans and everyone in between. All parties and people should be able to see what their public officials are doing and both take part in their decisions or comment on them.
If they could, they'd understand government better and stop believing the wild conspiracy theories, myths and misinformation that bad actors peddle. Open, transparent, accessible government is bipartisan, or nonpartisan. Call it what you will. It is for everyone. It protects everyone.
President Trump, sadly, dangerously, doesn't agree.
In just the last month, he's had his FCC chairman threaten TV networks unless they stifle Jimmy Kimmel and other critics. He's had his Attorney General threaten to prosecute people for "hate" speech -- ie. commentary that criticizes Trump -- and has had his Defense Secretary attempt to deny press credentials to journalists who fail to pledge that they will eschew independent fact-gathering and report only the information offered via press release by the Pentagon. His vice president has told everyone to report critiques of Charlie Kirk and other matters to their employers in hopes those uttering them will be fired.
Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans and the Justice Department refuse to release the Epstein files, the FBI refuses to release the tape of immigration czar Tom Homan allegedly accepting cash in a paper bag from those wanting border security contracts and the administration refuses to produce documents, tapes or other evidence that the Venezuelan boats it's blown out of the water were actually smuggling drugs.
Information is not free in this administration. Government is not transparent.
But here in Connecticut, the Freedom of Information Act is celebrating its 50th anniversary. There are those, to be sure, that want to limit access to public records and keep government meetings closed to the public. But the overwhelming majority of state and local officials -- led by the Freedom of Information Commission, leadership in the General Assembly and hundreds of sterling mayors, first selectmen, town clerks and town councilors -- are keeping records available and meetings open.
Last week, more than 100 guardians of those rights gathered at the Mark Twain House & Museum to honor some of those heroes.
Among them:
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the state House of Representatives, Vincent Candelora and Jason Rojas, who have distinguished themselves in recent years, but particularly this year, by defending government transparency in the face of determined efforts to shield government actions from the public.
As leaders admired by their respective caucuses, they are both uncommonly influential when they take a stand on issues, and have proven their philosophical opposition to government secrecy when they review proposed legislation. This year, in contrast to Washington, where compromise and bipartisan agreement is almost nonexistent, they were instrumental in promoting sincere caucus-to-caucus discussion that ultimately defeated bills that would have kept hidden higher education records pertaining to teaching or research; restricted access to voter records; permitted public review of complaints against police and corrections officers only after they had been "investigated and adjudicated by the proper legal authority;" and allowed school superintendents to attend closed executive sessions of boards of education, without limitation, creating a slippery slope that in future years might have unleashed unlimited closed sessions by councils, boards of selectmen and other public bodies.
The Housing Collective, which works to create affordable homes across Connecticut. Each week, it publishes a comprehensive listing of land-use commission meetings' times, locations and agendas -- where housing creation decisions are made so residents can attend and voice concerns, along with a list of vacancies on land-use boards so residents can seek appointment or election, and complemented by explanations of what land-use boards are empowered to decide and information on how to understand their actions and offer input.
If every policy organization in Connecticut -- environmental, public health, education -- did the same, government would be more visible and less mysterious, and Connecticut residents would be less inclined to believe the misinformation and conspiracy theories fed to them by those trying to mislead them.
Journalist Katherine Revello, of CT Inside Investigator, who wrote more than 150 pieces in the last year explaining the Freedom of Information Act and open meetings law.
Colleen M. Murphy, the current executive director and general counsel of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, received a special award for her steadfast advocacy of open government in her 35 years as an FOI attorney and her 20 years as the commission's leader. She is widely respected as a fair, objective, brilliant attorney, and is a sought-after speaker nationally on government transparency, privacy and FOI issues.
The honor they all received -- The Mitchell W. Pearlman Freedom of Information Award -- is named after the first executive director of the state FOI Commission and the father of the state's FOI Act. He attended the ceremony, standing to the side, smiling.
We will all have a reason to keep smiling if government records, officials and meetings remain open and accessible. But "government of the people, by the people, for the people" will, as Lincoln understood, perish from the earth if the abuses out of Washington continue and spread. Democracy will only remain alive if we ensure that "We the People" -- all the people -- can see, petition and shape their government.
The heroes honored last week were richly deserving. But they can't do it alone. We have to be heroes, too.