In Your Opinion: Assemblyman Danielsen Moving In Right Direction

By Bill Connell.

In fairness to Joe Danielsen I need to write one more letter regarding the Open Public Records Act, since he is moving in a direction I was hoping to see.

Last night he spoke in front of a group of local Democrats and tried to explain what issues he is trying to fix by modifying, not destroying OPRA.  This is the political equivalent of a Taylor Swift concert, but you have to start somewhere. Thank you Joe.

Not surprisingly he was not thrilled to see me since I broke his chops in this space, but I was trying to push him to be better. But still, John Mellancamp’s Authority Song popped in my head.

Assemblyman Danielsen’s presentation was well over an hour.  One thing was clear, it would be very hard to explain this is in a few paragraphs since there are multiple scenarios where OPRA needs to be adjusted.  If you have a short attention span or want a quick answer, there is none.  

My interest in this can be explained this way.  I once overreacted to a situation and a public official told me “If you throw a rock in a pack of dogs, the one you hit, is the one that squeals”.  This comment stuck with me so I try to step back a look at the whole picture. 

I could not help but notice the most vocal people were the ones with a monetary interest, in the name of transparency. I needed Assemblyman Danielsen to counter balance that.  He has now started doing that. 

Even after last night I don’t know how I feel but I fully support Assemblyman Danielsen in having the discussion.  He’s got his work cut out for him. 

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