The sunshine man

For three decades it's been a good bet that whenever some legislator or group wanted to add more secrecy to Iowa's government, Bill Monroe showed up - ready to defend the First Amendment.

“He always put himself in the line of fire, he never backed down,” Michael Giudicessi, counsel to the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said in presenting Monroe with the FOI's Friend of the First Amendment Award last Friday in Des Moines.

We can't think of any Iowan more deserving.

Monroe recently finished a 29-year stint as executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association, a service and advocacy organization for the state's newspaper members, including The Gazette. His job involved many things most Iowans probably don't care much about.

However, Monroe's track record as a relentless, yet practical, advocate for open government and freedom of information is something all Iowans should appreciate. As Gazette Publisher Dave Storey pointed out, “He knows the First Amendment is critical for a Democratic government to function properly, so that it remains a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Bill never negotiated a compromise to these principles.”

Monroe worked tirelessly to prevent legislation that would deny reporters and the public the access they need to make democracy work.

In accepting the honor, Monroe urged these actions in the ongoing battle for openness:

1) Learn more about the legislative process, because it's complex and state legislators are under pressure from many corners.

2) Beware the growing number and power of lobbyists representing government agencies and departments, a trend that has brought an increasing bias toward more secrecy. The media must do a better job of explaining lobbyists' arguments and what the impact on the public could be.

3) Don't give up the fight for a state enforcement agency to investigate and rule on alleged violations of public records and meetings laws.

Monroe has been in the thick of a two-year effort to strengthen Iowa's “sunshine” laws with a proposed enforcement agency as the anchor. As we've pointed out previously, Iowa's public records and meetings laws are among the nation's best but the state does a poor job of enforcing them. This not only makes the media's job more difficult, but the average citizen may be faced with spending large sums for legal work simply to see records that belong to every Iowan. The potential cost and time delays too often discourage residents as well as many media outlets.

So far, legislators have not approved the enforcement agency. But thanks to the efforts of Monroe and others, the concept is gaining support.

Bill Monroe never gave up the fight for openness in government. The best way we can thank him is to never settle for secrecy where the sun should shine.