Portland could have a transparency advocate, but City Council has to approve putting the choice in voters' hands Feb. 22
While Portland’s city government lists “transparency” among its core values, anyone tasked with filing (or fulfilling) more than a few public records requests can tell you that value is much more aspirational than descriptive. Frequent readers of Street Roots and other outlets that cover Portland’s government are also likely aware of recent issues in the transparency realm (“Stakeholders” convened for expediting groups, anyone? iMessage vs. SMS texts?).
However, journalists, civically engaged Portlanders, and, yes, even city employees may have cause for celebration in the near future. In less than two years, Portland may be able to welcome its first Office of the Transparency Advocate by way of a charter amendment drafted and proposed by the ACLU of Oregon, Greater Oregon Society of Professional Journalists, League of Women Voters PDX and Open Oregon.
But first, Portland City Council has to approve putting the choice in voters’ hands during its Feb. 22 meeting.
The amendment, which was vetted by new City Auditor Simone Rede, seeks to create a new, independent oversight position in the auditor’s office to ensure the city is adhering to best practices regarding public information. The new transparency advocate would be tasked with making sure meeting agendas, notes and documents are stored and disseminated as legally appropriate. They would also be empowered to field complaints from the public and public servants about transparency, investigate them, and recommend changes to policies and procedures.
Importantly, the city transparency advocate wouldn’t always agree with public complainants, they would just make sure the city is following public meetings and records law.
Right now, the people who pay city salaries (the public) have few options outside of costly legal action or attempting to add it to the city ombudsman’s already overflowing plate. In turn, the city can search through a walk-in closet of over 600 public records exemptions and find whichever seems coziest as a means for withholding a particular document or piece of information. Even if that’s not currently the standard operating procedure, assuming the best with government has never been particularly healthy for democracies. I've said as much when testifying in support of this amendment before the Charter Commission and City Council as Oregon SPJ's vice president.
Many readers are no doubt asking, ‘Didn’t the state just set something up like this in 2018, and didn’t it have a nearly immediate and uniformly positive impact on transparency at the state level? Hasn’t it been so successful that even government employees applaud it?’ Those readers would be correct, and while that position (the state public records advocate) can’t intervene at the local level, it provides a recent and clear example of just how beneficial this position can be.
The Office of the Transparency Advocate seems like an obvious addition to the city payroll, but the amendment still faces two hurdles. City Council must approve it for the May 2023 ballot, and voters must then approve it in May. History tells us the real hurdle is the former, as concrete steps toward a more transparent government tend to be much more popular with voters than politicians. (Go figure.)
City Council is set to vote during its Feb. 22 meeting. If you, as a voter, concerned Portlander or general fan of transparency, are wondering how to support the would-be ballot measure, you can sign up for public testimony during the Feb. 22 council meeting as early as Feb. 17. You can also email or call your mayor and commissioners and urge them to put this proposed amendment in the hands of voters. After all, they probably don’t want to be remembered as the elected official who voted against transparency during the next election cycle.
Sincerely,
K. Rambo
Editor in chief
Editor's note: This letter has been updated to reflect a new date for the amendment's inclusion on the ballot if City Council chooses to refer it to voters.
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