Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
Serving the public since 1955
Oct. 8, 2014
Dear Candidate for the General Assembly and Constitutional office:
Freedom of information and the public’s right to know about Connecticut state and municipal governments have been under increasing attack in recent years. So the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, urges you to take the Public Official’s Pledge for Open and Accountable Government, which is appended.
CCFOI, a non-profit entering our 60th year, will let your constituents know of your support for their right to know.
Please take this pledge by signing it and mailing it or e-mailing it back to me. Please feel free to make a comment about your pledge.
Sincerely,
JAMES H. SMITH, President
Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
59 Sioux Drive
Oxford, CT 06478
James H. Smith Email
203-915-9428
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CCFOI officers: President, James H. Smith;
Vice President, Richard Ahles;
Secretary, Mary Connolly;
Treasurer, George Lombardi
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Public Official’s Pledge for Open and Accountable Government
In 1975 the General Assembly unanimously sent to Gov. Ella T. Grasso the landmark legislation she had asked for, what became known as Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act, that she signed it into law. The FOI Act promises that government at every level in Connecticut — state and municipal, from police departments to schools — will strive to conduct business in the open. The act guarantees the right of everyone to have access to government agency meetings and records.
As government in Connecticut has grown in the decades since its passage, the FOI Act is even more important today. It ensures accountability in government and thereby promotes confidence in government.
As Governor Grasso and the 1975 General Assembly did, I believe that a successful democracy requires open, transparent, and accountable government. Accordingly, I pledge to my constituents and to all the people of Connecticut that:
— I will support Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act, including the independence of the state’s unique Freedom of Information Commission, and oppose weakening it.
— I will do whatever I can to require that any proposals to weaken or impair the FOI Act be presented for debate at public hearings before any action is taken on them.
CANDIDATE:
OFFICE OR LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT:
DATE:
Please return to:
James H. Smith Email
203-915-9428 or James H. Smith, 59 Sioux Drive, Oxford, CT 06478