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Oct. 31,
2004
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After All This Time We Must Assume The Board Of Regents Is Clueless
The Open Meeting Law Benefits The Public Not Those Who Wish To Hide From The Public
by Johnny Gunn
The University of Nevada System Board of Regents has been found guilty in a court of law of violating Nevada's Open Meeting Law, has been chastised for their actions, has even had the state's highest law enforcement officer, Attorney General Brian Sandoval suggest publicly that they get better representation as far as who will keep them within the confines of the law. Up until recently, the board has depended on private attorney representation. That has changed by a decree from interim Chancellor Jim Rogers.
Apparently none of this has penetrated the minds of the board. In recent days, members of the board are decrying the fact they can't hire a new system chancellor in secret. What on earth is wrong with these people? There is a reason behind the open meeting law in the Silver State. It is designed to make government open to the people who pay for it. You. Me. To hire someone who will be responsible for hundreds of millions of tax dollars behind closed doors is not what the law is about.
Various members of the board have been saying they want to meet in secret and discuss or compare the qualifications of those who might want the job of Chancellor. They believe that if a potential candidate knows he will be grilled in public, he might not want the job.
Well, sorry boys and girls, but if a potential candidate has that much to hide or that much to be afraid of in his or her background, it should be known to the public. It is the public that pays the bills, it is the public that has to bail the system out if things go wrong, it is the public that has a right to know who will be spending their money.
In November a year ago, the Board of Regents met behind closed doors and voted to demote two Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) employees. That was in violation of the Open Meeting Law according to a Clark County District Court. The ruling indicated that a majority of the Board of Regents formed what was called a consensus behind closed doors in direct violation of the law.
The Deputy Attorney General responsible for open meeting law issues has indicated that he will sit in on any closed-door sessions, and will insist that the open meeting laws and provisions will be followed.
Secrecy in government leads to duplicity by those who are supposed to serve the public, supposed to work within the confines of law. Elected officials have a burden of trust placed on them when they accept the judgement of the general public and are called on by a vote to serve. That burden of trust must be maintained in public, not in secret, and if it means that someone looking for a job must let us know his or her background, and it's not rosy clean, then so be it.
It's our money, it's our University system, it's our government. Play by the rules and we'll love you to death. Mess with us, and you'll be asked to leave.
Letters We Get
Editor, The Observer
I enjoyed reading the article on the proposed impeachment and trial of (State Controller) Kathy Augustine.
One correction. While the State Assembly charged District Judge Frank Langan and voted in the majority for his removal in 1921, the State Senate did not get a two thirds vote to remove him.