To the editor:
Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee recently voted for a surprise motion that would have exempted the Legislature from Wisconsin’s open records law. It also would have redefined public records ,which means most state/local government records could be kept secret.
The ultra-conservative Lakeland Times reacted with a blistering editorial, calling the proposal sneaked in anonymously at the last minute “nothing less than the attempted murder of honest government.” They added: “The perpetrators deserve the political equivalent of a death sentence: recall.” They asked John Nygren to reveal the source of this “attack on democracy,” and if he refused, demanded he be recalled.
That was a week ago, and we still don’t know who authored this “extreme and egregious attempt to provide cover for those who would work against the public interest, either illegally or unethically” (Lakeland Times). However, we do know who voted for it: John Nygren and Tom Tiffany. Nygren says it was designed to keep constituent communications private. Tiffany says there’s so much good in the budget he had to vote yes. Give me a break.
Taxpayers pay these two part-time employees a generous salary/benefits (health insurance, retirement, travel, meals, lodging, etc). We pay office/staff expenses. I don’t know about Nygren, but try reaching Tiffany. I have called/emailed Tiffany’s office more than a hundred times. Never has he taken a call, called me back or responded to an email. Except once. I forwarded him a Bill Leuders column calling him out for his role in campaign dirty tricks during a mine-related Oneida County election. He got very defensive and told me to do an online search. (Latest attempt: Monday, July 6, 2015, 9:30 a.m. phone call. No answer. Voice mailbox full.)
He did also respond to a letter to the editor I wrote asking if he’s immune to consequences of his anti-middle class policies. He suggested I call his office to get a link to look it up online. Wow, that was helpful.
John Nygren and Tom Tiffany were elected to serve the public interest in an open, transparent manner. If they cannot/will not, they are no longer fit to govern. So who wrote/inserted the open records language into the budget? Why? John? Tom? Anyone?
Kathleen Marsh,
Townsend
Editor’s note: The proposed open records change was subsequently deleted from the budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Scott Walker.
