UF Brechner Center Report: Dan Gelber vs. Pamela Bondi on Open Government Issues

ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATE Q&A
The Florida Attorney General is in a unique position to influence open government. The AGO administers the voluntary mediation program, issues legal opinions on open government issues, and often implements transparency initiatives within the AGO. Here, the candidates respond to The Brechner Report’s
questions on open government.
Pam Bondi is the Republican candidate for Florida Attorney General.
Dan Gelber is the Democratic candidate for Florida Attorney General.
The Attorney General has historically played a major role in promoting Florida’s strong open government and transparency laws. As AG, where would you put open government on your list of priorities?
Bondi: I have spent the last two decades as a prosecutor in Hillsborough County, and for the last ten years I acted as the public information officer for our office, with the responsibility of handling requests for public records and information. I whole-heartedly believe that Florida’s open government laws are paramount to ensuring transparency in the public process and providing citizens with a means to hold government accountable and that the people have the right to know. As Florida’s Attorney General, it will be a top priority to support efforts and advance policies that protect and guarantee transparency at all levels of government.
Gelber: Among the most important things I do. First, I believe sunlight is a terrific antiseptic. I have already indicated I would push a public corruption task force that would include lawyers from the AG office designated to help prosecute open government violations. I will also continue to push to bring a more open and transparent government to state government (where it is currently lacking) like Senate Joint Resolution 440, which requires the Legislature to abide by much of the open-government laws that govern local governments.
Are there any exemptions to the Open Meetings or Public Records Laws that you feel should be passed? Repealed?
Gelber: I don’t see the need for more exemptions. I would support (see above) a change that would bring more sunshine to the state legislature. In the early 1990s, as various citizen forces and Florida’s attorney general were pushing for more oversight and transparency in government, legislative leaders negotiated a compromise that would impose lesser open-government standards for the Legislature. Legislators argued that the nature of a 60-day session and the practicalities of noticing all communications among legislators would make it unrealistic to apply the same notice requirements as imposed on other levels of government. I would support legislation that would change these exemptions and require the Legislature to operate with greater sunshine. This means opening up the budget process, requiring that any budget allocations be made in public and greater scrutiny over the amendatory process.
Bondi: As Attorney General, I will continually review our state’s open government laws to ensure that any exemptions are truly necessary and properly justified.
What is your position on the use of Blackberries, PDAs, text messaging and other mobile technologies by public officials?
Bondi: We are living in a highly technological age where electronic communications are commonly used to conduct business in industries, including government. I believe in order to uphold Florida’s century-long commitment to open government our laws must stay current with evolving technology, in order to ensure continued transparency and accountability in government.
Gelber: I believe communications of public officials related to official acts should be disclosed to the extent they can be memorialized (including texts).
Do you have any specific open government initiatives that you would like to implement if elected?
Gelber: The most important unit of government that is in desperate need of greater transparency and sunshine is the Florida Legislature. While I cannot put laws in place to bring such transparency and openness, I will use my office to push for reforms in hopes that recent incidents of misappropriations compels the legislature to advance such proposals.
Bondi: As attorney general, I will be an advocate for openness and transparency at every level of government.
Are there any other comments you’d like to make on open government?
Bondi: Florida has a long-standing tradition of enacting laws that require government to operate in the sunshine, so that citizens can hold government accountable for its actions. If given the honor to serve as our state’s next Attorney General, I will continue to make these efforts a priority and make certain that my administration works to increase transparency and provide the people with access to their government.
Gelber: Although it might be easier to govern with limited citizen involvement, it is not better or healthier for a democracy. For that reason, I have been a leading advocate for more transparency and openness. I appreciate that many will raise the same arguments that were raised when the Legislature initially exempted itself from Florida’s demanding open-government laws. Perhaps if, in the nearly two decades that followed, the legislature would have governed themselves better, such an argument should prevail.
But regrettably, most Floridians view state government as more beholden to special interests than the interests of citizens. Sunshine is an antiseptic