Group funding open government cases

By MARK SAGE/Staff

A Glade Spring group is looking to help residents fight city hall – or town hall, or county hall or any government agency not responding to requests for open government.
Patti Woolard, a member of the Glade Spring Civic Club said her group is offering to front folks the court costs associated with taking action against a public body denying access to records or being nonresponsive about access.
Woolard said that most of the people in Washington County and the surrounding areas live paycheck to paycheck and may not have the $50 it takes to file to fight for open government. She said it’s frustrating to ask over and over for information and to be ignored. It’s also against the law, she said. Governmental bodies have procedures they have to follow and should be forced to follow them, Woolard said.
Diane Johnson said the club is offering more than financial support, however. She said a lot of people are afraid of going to court. She said it doesn’t have to be scary. By lending a hand, Johnson said the Civic Club is letting anyone in the region who has a legitimate gripe about a public body know that they’re not alone. The club will help with education and give support, she said, so that the person doesn’t feel as if the fight is all their own.
Civic Club members plan to look at each situation on a case-by-case basis before deciding to give out the filing fee money. If they believe it’s a strong case, they’ll pony up the money. It’s not a loan, Woolard said. If the person loses, they don’t have to pay the money back. However, if they win and ask for the filing fee to be returned and judge agrees, the person will give that money back to the civic club for the next person to use.
Woolard said this eliminates the excuse that it’s too expensive to fight for open government. Now, she said, people only need courage and backbone.
Woolard said the offer is for anyone in the region trying in vain to get information from any governmental board that falls under the Freedom of Information Act.
Megan Rhyne, the executive director for Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said she had heard about the Civic Club’s plans and couldn’t be more supportive. She said on a local level, what the club is doing is unprecedented. There is a nationwide litigation fund, administered through the national Freedom of Information Coalition, through a grant from the Knight Foundation, that fronts costs for anyone filing court cases, Rhyne said. She said that project was in the works for two years and went live earlier this year.
Rhyne said the Civic Club is presenting a great opportunity for residents to press for more openness in government. She said cost is often the prohibiting factor in taking Freedom of Information Act cases to court.