ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — The Guardian has announced the launch of a new monthly award.
The “Sunshine Award” recognizes public officials and agencies for making important contributions in the area of open government.
“Public records are essential for the public to be able to hold officials accountable — at the ballot box, in court, and in the press,” said the Guardian’s editor-in-chief Derek Myers. “Without transparency, there would be no consequences or disincentives for elected officials who make government waste or abuse their position.”
The Guardian’s assistant editor, Jay Salley, added that accountability is paramount to democracy.
“If those in power control the flow of information, the powerful forever stay in power.”
The August 2021 honoree for the Sunshine Award is Ross County Auditor Tom Spetnagel.
“Regardless of the public record, Auditor Spetnagel is responsive to our requests for information. He timely provides the records and information, going well beyond his statutory duty to ensure we have what we need to inform the public,” said Myers. “His new-and-improved website is also a vital tool to the public that is unmatched by other county agencies.”
Auditor Spetnagel said he simply does his job.
“The sunshine laws are fairly straightforward and they exist to protect taxpayers’ access to information. Whenever there is any doubt, I err on the side of disclosure,” the auditor said on Monday.
Myers added that founding father Patrick Henry once said, “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.”