Very interesting, not a little passive-aggressive interview with Charlotte City Manager Curt Walton on the subject of government transparency. The things I learned:
- Evidently $40,000 is a very, very lot of money the expenditure of which the city of Charlotte never, never undertakes lightly and will forever lament, second-guess, and whine about.
- Reporters, and by extension, members of the general public are too stupid to understand government documents without the proper “context” as defined by Curt Walton and members of his staff.
- Walton prefers a “collaborative” relationship with journalists. Explains a lot.
- Walton beliefs this relationship has strayed from that format in recent years with the advent of Inter-Nets, which explains even more. Charlotte has the tamest local media of any major city I can think of — I defy anyone to name a more docile bunch.
- I think Curt really, really did not like having to discuss the salaries and performance of the neighborhood and economic development wings of the city-state. Too bad. Screw-ups, public, private, anywhere draw attention. That’s called life.
But here is the larger point. The Uptown paper has repeatedly editorialized in recent days on the need for sunshine in and around government. Super, great. Now back it up. Call for the release of the minutes and votes of quasi-governmental units like Center City Partners and University City Partners. Do disclosure laws technically apply to these government-funded, highly influential organizations? Probably, not. Would a free and open society disclose what goes on behind closed doors when these powerful ops get together to set the local agenda?
Absolutely. And maybe that way Curt Walton, Mac McCarley and crew won’t feel so singled out and imposed upon by the great unwashed.
