EDITORIAL: Enabling Open Government for All

EDITORIAL: Enabling Open Government for All

Andrew Updegrove, Partner, Gesmer Updegrove LLP

4/10/2009
(Original Publish Date: 3/1/2009)

One of the refreshing promises that Barack Obama made to the nation during the recent campaign was to bring greater openness and transparency to the operation of government. What distinguished this pledge from those of his predecessors was his commitment to go beyond soft promises of greater candor in press conferences and fewer assertions of privilege. This administration, he pledged, would provide an unprecedented level of access to information and direct interaction with government, enabling a richly interactive, ongoing dialogue between citizens and their elected representatives.