EDITORIAL
The Washington Post has famously used the phrase “Democracy dies in darkness” to illustrate the crucial nature of its coverage of national government for many, many years. The paper has a point. Democracy does, in fact, die in darkness, where the will of the people is often subverted.
This point was not lost on Oklahoma legislators when they passed the Open Record Act and the Open Meeting Act — laws which, together, were intended to shine a blinding light into the darkness in which some lawmakers prefer to operate. This point was also on the minds of Lawton lawmakers who passed revisions to the City Council’s Rules of Procedure, signed by Mayor Stan Booker Sept. 22, 2020. The Council’s rules go so far as to incorporate Open Meeting Act requirements into the procedures for boards and committees.
Lawton City Council Policy 1-06.5I states, “Meetings of committees are subject to compliance with the Open Meeting Law. The Committee's report shall be submitted to the Council for action.”
Despite this noble aim, Lawton city leaders are failing to achieve their objective, and Lawton taxpayers may be the ones who pay the price for this shortcoming. In recent months, Lawton city officials have begun to narrow channels of communication with the Ledger, and, presumably, with other journalists. This narrowing comes in the form of reducing all information exchanges between city officials and Ledger journalists to a single point of contact, no matter how mundane the request.
Ledger journalists seeking information have been routinely denied access to the city’s new Public Safety Building — a project that some have questioned as being both over-budget and unnecessary.
Most recently, an April 1 Lawton Enhancement Trust Authority committee meeting chaired by Councilman Jay Burk was held with no public notice provided, nor was the public notified the location of the meeting had been abruptly changed from the committee’s usual meeting place, in violation of the Council’s own policies, if not state law itself.
Thus far, the city of Lawton has failed to respond to Open Record Requests filed by Ledger journalists and legal staff on April 5, seeking information on phone records for Councilman Burk as part of an ongoing newsgathering process.
Lawton taxpayers deserve better. Lawton taxpayers deserve an open, transparent government that does not seek to conduct its business in darkness. Lawton residents should demand no less from their elected representatives.
The Southwest Ledger strongly encourages Lawton residents to contact Councilman Burk and demand he conduct city business in an open and transparent manner, as required by the city’s own policies and Oklahoma state law.