Press Club explores transparency in the District

The National Press Club’s Freedom of the Press Committee joined the D.C. Open Government Coalition March 15 to present the 2016 D.C. Open Government Summit, highlighting government transparency in the District.

The event coincided with Sunshine Week, a national celebration of public access to government data.

Following an introduction by D.C. OGC President Kevin Goldberg, the event opened with a conversation between D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. OGC founder Tom Susman.

Bowser discussed her experiences as both a council member and mayor in promoting transparency, such as advocating for open-door meetings. Bowser has worked with the D.C. OGC on a number of transparency-related initiatives, including the District’s first Open Data Policy and the appointment of a new Chief Technology Officer.

“A lot of times in government, people are scared of what they’re going to find, and therefore they’re scared to release it,” Bowser said. But ultimately, she said, that information is going to come out, and the sooner the better.

Bowser and Susman share similar goals for improving government transparency and access to data, but they have not always seen eye-to-eye. While Bowser praised the District’s efforts to outfit police with body cameras, Susman noted that Goldberg had to push to make body camera data public. Some footage can now be disclosed in certain situations, an arrangement that Bowser said she accepts.

“I am very comfortable with not always getting everything that I want,” Bowser said. “My chief responsibility is around safety.”

Susman also noted the Office of Open Government lacks resources and is underused. Bowser acknowledged the importance of supporting independent offices. “We are always eager to partner with all of our agencies and figure out ways that we can do things better,” she said.

Next, D.C. OGC board member Robert Becker moderated a panel of data and government transparency experts, featuring OOG Director Traci Hughes; LaVita Tuff, policy analyst at the Sunlight Foundation; and Darby Hickey, legislative assistant for D.C. Council Member David Grosso (I).

Hickey discussed the Strengthening Transparency and Open Access to Government Amendment Act of 2016, introduced by Rosso and Council Member Mary Cheh (D) in January. The legislation would standardize procedures and clarify responsibilities across various government agencies and bodies. One major provision is amendment of the Freedom of Information Act to make data more publicly accessible.

Hughes also stressed the need to back the OOG. “We can encourage the administration to give to the office so it can fully achieve its mandates,” she said, “to support all of government so that it can be more open.”

With so many transparency efforts underway, cooperation is paramount. The What Works Cities initiative is one example of a project that is “helping cities be more open and transparent through open-data policies,” Tuff said. “We just hope that the Chief Technology Officer works closely with Traci (Hughes) to make sure that implementation is successful and that discretionary power isn’t created, because discretionary power is dangerous.”

Hughes expressed a similar sentiment. “We have to be very careful about not leaving people behind,” she said, explaining that data must be meaningful to citizens without in-depth technical knowledge, not just the “data wonks.”

We need to educate our District government employees in a way that demystifies the data,” she said.

D.C's Chief Technology Officer Archana Vemulapalli closed the evening with a call for collaboration between the public and private sectors to make government more open and efficient. “We need to have a structure on how we engage, especially the civic community that wants to help out,” she said. Vemulapalli said she was eager to hear a range of perspectives on data-driven solutions.