Your right to know: a nearby victory

Q: How is open government faring in neighboring states?

A: The tension between government secrecy and citizens' demands for openness seems eternal, but sunshine won big time recently in Knoxville, Tenn., where a judge and jury threw out a dozen Knox County officeholders who had been hand-picked behind closed doors.

It was the largest housecleaning of public officials ever in Tennessee for violating the state's open meetings law, The Associated Press reported. Open government advocates hope the mass removal will serve as a warning to city councils and county boards around the country.

"This is a spark that could catch fire in Knox County and spread throughout the nation," said Herb Moncier, the attorney who represented nine citizens in a companion lawsuit to a Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper suit that resulted in the ruling.

"The people took back their government," Moncier said. "The fundamental concepts of democracy in America have been affirmed."

Based on a jury verdict, Chancellor Daryl Fansler ruled Oct. 5 that the 19-member Knox County Commission violated the spirit and intent of the state's open-meetings law when members filled vacancies for eight term-limited commissioners and four countywide officers, including the sheriff, on Jan. 31.

The jury had found that commissioners secretly deliberated and voted on whether, when and under what rules to hold the meeting for the new appointments. Secret deliberations continued during recesses in the meeting, and the vacancies were filled with what Moncier described as "relatives, cronies and supporters."

They were out of a job, effective immediately, the judge ruled.

("Your right to know" offers a quick lesson on public records and meetings. Staff writer Matthew Eisley can be reached at matthew.eisley@newsobserver.com, (919) 829-4538 or The News & Observer, 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, NC 27602.)