Colorado doesn t just have a friend in Steve Zansberg. They have a defender of the public s right to know and the press s ability to do its job. Toiling in a law library instead of a newsroom, the former TV journalist is a giant behind the scenes of just about every one of the state s biggest First Amendment fights over the last 2½ decades.
If the public has a right to know, it s usually Zansberg fighting hardest for that right. Though it s his profession, he s also known for his pro bono fights for reporters, news outlets and others who enjoy the freedom of information. He currently serves as president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, ensuring proposed changes to the law, access to public records and initiatives around transparency.
Search Firm on Jeffco Superintendent Hunt Has Learned a Few Lessons westword.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from westword.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Originally published on March 8, 2021 8:51 am
Colorado is making it easier for residents to see what their government is spending their tax dollars on, down to every last paperclip and coffee order in the governor’s office.
Late last year, the state quietly turbocharged its clunky and neglected online checkbook by migrating millions of lines of financial data to a new software system.
Doug Platt, a spokesman for the state’s department of personnel and administration, says Colorado was able to repurpose software that was already being used in another branch of government.
The tweaks result in faster load times and a checkbook that is updated daily, delivering on the state’s decade-old promise of giving taxpayers a real-time glimpse into government spending.
This week on Local Motion, news director Gavin Dahl speaks with Erin McIntyre, co-publisher of the Ouray County Plaindealer newspaper, and Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition executive director Jeff Roberts. Together they explore the significance of the reverse CORA filed in district court by Ouray County administrator Connie Hunt and county attorney Carol Viner after they declined an open records request by the newspaper for personnel files about public health staffers responding to the coronavirus pandemic. KVNF News requested an interview or statement from the county officials with more than 24 hours notice, but received no response before airtime.
A similar reverse CORA backfired on the Town of Paonia a few years ago, as explained by CFOIC. You can read the Plaindealer s news coverage about this story here and here, and Erin s editorial column Records request is about clearing up a blurry picture here.
The tweaks result in faster load times and a checkbook that is updated daily, delivering on the state’s decade-old promise of giving taxpayers a real-time glimpse into government spending.