Public Disclosure and Initiatives

No one has ever denied that democracy is messy. But what really makes democracy works is information and to use the in-vogue word, transparency. In small towns in New England, decisions are still made with town meetings. Stand up and be counted. The extremely popular television show, Gilmore Girls, had a field day with the town meetings, yet everyone attended and every one talked.

Here in Washington State we are processing a wrenching debate over whether the names of people who signed petitions to challenge laws enacted by the State Legislature (known as referendums) or petitions to create laws (initiatives) can be made public. The Secretary of State said "yes," those names should be public and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed. The US Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the release until it can have a hearing, meaning the vote will be long over.

The contentious part of this is that the names sought were attached to a petition to essentially rescind the domestic partnership law passes by the state legislature. And the groups trying to prevent the release are, they claim, afraid that they will be harassed and hounded by gay activists. Indeed, they only point to California where the release of contribution records to the initiative to ban gay marriage resulted in a community theatre director being "hounded out of a job" because he gave money in what was perceived to be an anti-gay measure.

Whether concerns over being hounded are valid or not, it seems that our democracy operates much better when we are willing to be open about our beliefs. Rather than hiding behind legalistic interpretations of regulations, standing up and being counted is a vibrant part of our debate. It frequently inspires a much more open dialogue as well as healthy resolutions.

Anti-disclosure advocates maintain a petition signature is like a vote, it should be kept secret (these days your vote really isn't secret, trust me). But a petition isn't a vote. It's an attempt to convince fellow citizens that we either need a new law or the laws we have are not good. It's your stand up and be counted moment.

And for once we have to trust that the rest of us will not act inappropriately once we hear your side.