Transparency and Accountability A need for citizen interaction
August will mark 23 years since I started my journey into politics and government. These past two decades, I have worked in various levels of government agencies and spent time on political campaigns with local and federal candidates. I graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in public administration. I am halfway through completing my Master of Public Administration, emphasizing government and policy.
Of all the lessons learned, transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of successful government administrations, private businesses, and public servants. Transparency is more than conducting open meetings. Transparency is not censoring the public voice because leadership needs to handle what they conceive as negative feedback. Transparency breaches challenging subjects and allows for a level playing field. Cutting communication with citizens or subordinates leaves them to create their version of events and ask why they are unwilling to engage. Are they hiding something?
A lack of transparency demonstrates a lack of accountability. Accountability is owning mistakes and taking responsibility for actions performed by individuals and administrations. President Harry S. Truman placed a nameplate on his desk in the Oval Office reading the “Buck Stops Here.” The statement was simple: he made the decisions, and the responsibility rested on his feet.
Elected and appointed officials should utilize all forms of communication to reach stakeholders. Positional power is not a place for weak individuals. Once someone is appointed or elected to office, much of their life becomes public, and even their private lives are open to scrutiny. A thick skin is required to hold positional power, and once in office, there should be no hiding from issues or questions.
Accountability has always been problematic concerning those in top positions. Closing off the media and journalists, hiding shady business dealings, and rationalizing bad decisions (classified documents were in a locked garage/room).
Good leadership inspires everyone and leaves no doubt about expectations. I once had a supervisor who would use my work and not give credit while he completely butchered what I said or did. This same supervisor hid in his office behind a closed door, would not respond to emails, and, when he was available, made it seem it was a bother you were there.
Great leaders keep public commentary open because they may state something that upsets the version of what the leader wants. Denying transparency and accountability hurts the public and the integrity of those unwilling to act in good faith.
Citizens have walked away from politics due to a lack of trust in government officials. It does not matter to them because they feel unimportant to the elected and appointed officials. Nevertheless, administrators continue to tune out the concerns of the public.
Many legislators in our state have not listened to stakeholders concerning numerous issues concerning crime, substance abuse, fentanyl, and myriad other problems plaguing the state.
The only way to fix the issue is for citizens to force transparency and hold leaders accountable. To state you are for the people but refuse to answer questions is what keeps us all divided.
Politics and government will always be what it is. However, the people still need to remember the power granted to them by the founders, The ability to change the outcome through elections. Stop voting for a letter next to a candidate’s name. Stop letting two parties dictate how somebody should run communities, and stop electing politicians and elect statesmen as stateswomen.
It is the stakeholder’s responsibility to question all forms of leadership and not trust that they are doing what is right when no one else is looking or listening. Whispering in darkened corners, conspiring in secret meetings, and allowing cronyism hinders the true meaning of our constitutional republic. Continuously electing the same people with different faces and names force us to continue struggling with problems that never get fixed.
Empower yourselves and stop giving your power to people who only want the perks of their position. Force accountability and transparency. Get involved and stay involved because politics does impact you. It is the same concept as someone saying, “you can have some toast if you want,” when you are the one who bought the bread.