This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The results are in, and — this should be a no-brainer for any Utah politician running for public office this year— Utahns want government transparency to be a campaign priority.
Utah needs elected officials and residents to fill the open-government leadership gap.
The latest public opinion results were reported in a front-page Tribune article on Friday. A majority of Utahns want their government to be open and transparent. And better yet, they are willing to put up the tax dollars to make it happen.
At the same time, a national survey says that Utah earns only a "D" when it comes to policies and practices that lead to greater transparency. Those running for Utah's statewide offices and seats in the Legislature, or for city council or school board seats, should take notice.
Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they would "strongly" or "somewhat" support spending tax dollars to make government information more accessible online. The same percentage said they strongly believe that more transparency would build trust in local government. The survey coincides with a project conceived by a class of University of Utah students who are asking local government officials to pledge to adopt transparency "best practices."
Although Utahns care about keeping their government accountable, there is a gap between their wishes and what government delivers. A new report released by State Integrity Investigation, a collaboration of the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International, shows that Utah overall earned a "D" on transparency.
Not one state got an "A" in the review and, surprisingly, New Jersey, once known for its graft and corruption, got the highest marks after lawmakers there have enacted tough reporting and ethics laws. Eight states earned failing marks, including Wyoming.
John Daly, a long-time investigative reporter at KSL-TV, independently conducted the Utah investigation and audit for the group. The group issued a report card on 14 categories of transparency. Utah ranked highest on its procurement process and state budgeting process, but failed for its openness on political financing, legislative accountability, ethics enforcement agencies and redistricting.
Daly said the high marks come, in part, from the state's independently elected auditor office, along with frequent audit reports. At the same time, the project gave poor scores for Utah's lack of limits on campaign contributions for state-level candidates and the difficulty for ordinary people to review and understand campaign contributions.
Daly notes that, while the influence of money continues to increase in Utah elections and campaigns, there has not been a similar increase in scrutiny of campaign finance. That also comes as the number of journalists watchdogging Utah's political institutions is shrinking. Also, Utah has no requirements for lawmakers to report expenditures from lobbyists. Only lobbyists report such expenditures.
Utah is making some incremental improvements, including the creation of a new state records ombudsman's office. In its last session, the Legislature also created an ethics review panel for local governments. That body, along with one for legislative review and judicial review, are helpful, but their processes still seem to favor secrecy over transparency.
For any candidate seeking to win or retain office, the political algorithm this election season should be simple: Make openness and transparency a campaign issue and propose legislation and policies to make it happen. For state lawmakers, they ought to support a new kind of message bill that really matters: open government.
Joel Campbell is an associate journalism professor at Brigham Young University. His views do not represent those of BYU. He writes about First Amendment and open government issues for the Tribune. He was a paid third-party reviewer of the State Integrity Investigation results for Utah. He can be reached at foiguy@gmail.com.