Open Public Meetings in the 21st Century

The Princeton Area League in conjunction with the Princeton Public Library held a panel discussion and public forum on October 11, 2008. Panelists included Heather Taylor, communications director and registered lobbyist for the Center for Civic Responsibility and its Citizens' Campaign; Beth Mason, president of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government and a Hoboken Councilwoman; Tamara D. Garaffa, community information officer for Montgomery Township and Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein, deputy speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. Ruth Ann Mitchell served as moderator.

A recurrent theme of the panel was that good communication is a key to good governance. Everyone should have the opportunity to contact their elected officials. An internet site such as the one used in Montgomery and illustrated by Tamara Garaffa is a very effective of way of accessing information from the local government. Voting information, agendas, master plan reports, departmental reports, calendars, and budgets are all accessible. People may request access to government records and make copies. With the strain on local budgets Web sites should be an effective way to disperse information to the community.

According to Beth Mason a key means of change is transparency. It is absolutely critical to take control over situations. The Foundation's mission is to increase the accountability and honesty in all levels of government while still insuring privacy rights. People who had been politically active in their youth are now entering a retirement phase of their life with a renewed interest and increased personal involvement in government. Law changes consisting of the Open Public Record Act, Open Public Meetings Act, and State Archival Records statutes all insure citizens' timely access. Several people in the audience asked questions about their specific problems and Beth explained the steps needed to find their solutions. She also referred people to the Web site wethepeoplereports.com. As Supreme Court Justice Lewis Brandeis said, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”

Heather Taylor discussed citizen responsibility and options. For example, she traced the grass roots effort that led to the “pay to play” law. Citizens may do many things. They may serve on boards and commissions and insist on the recording of such. They could join a municipal party committee on the county or state level. They could recruit more response teams such as first aid, EMT, CERT. Even younger people could get involved in these areas. The Web site for her organization is njfog.org.

Linda Greenstein concluded the day's program by telling the story of how she became involved in politics beginning with running for the local school board. Her key piece of advice, which could most likely be share by the other panelists, was - Persistence.