Every day, I open a newspaper hoping to see coverage of the very important and necessary work being undertaken by Maine lawmakers. I am often disappointed.

While I understand that stories about legislation such as whether the whoopie or blueberry pie should be our state dessert capture the fancy of readers, I do have to wonder why there is little real coverage of the key issues we face as a state.

Mike Tipping’s recent Kennebec Journal column (“LePage: Freedom of Access Act used as form of ‘internal terrorism'”) is exactly the sort of piece I am referring to in failing to see the forest for the trees. (www.kjonline.com/ opinion/columnists/lepage-freedom-of-access-act-used-as-form-of-internal-terrorism_2011-03-26.html)

Not only was the column full of suppositions and devoid of fact, it relied on a single piece of hearsay to serve as a foundation for what amounts to little more than a political assault against Maine’s governor.

Tipping claimed that Gov. Paul LePage stated in an “interbranch” government meeting on March 14 that “FOAA is being used as a form of internal terrorism.” As is typical of political sensationalism, Tipping is content to cite the quote from an unnamed source for the advancement of his ideological agenda. Even if Tipping could offer proof beyond his “unnamed sources” that the governor had in fact uttered these words, he fails to offer the context in which the statement was made.

If LePage made such a statement, it would be important to look at why it might be uttered.

Maine’s Freedom of Access Act is a critical component of open and transparent government. Through FOAA, anyone can, at any time, request public records pertaining to issues of interest directly from the public agency most likely to maintain those records. This is the very heart of good government.

There is not, and should not ever be, any sort of qualification process for FOAA requests. Yet, as Maine people utilize this valuable tool for transparency at all levels, common sense should dictate that they would exercise restraint in making multiple FOAA requests for records that they have no use for or interest in receiving.

More than one of the governor’s staff has remarked about the deluge of FOAA requests that are received daily. Some seem to amount to little more than attempts to tie the hands of staff as they go about their daily work, or to manufacture a “gotcha moment” for the governor as he attempts to do the work the Maine people elected him to do in November.

The 2010 election cycle is complete. There were winners, and there were losers.

LePage’s political opponents have every right to oppose the administration’s agenda and to speak out against changes with which they disagree.

By the same token, they should realize that the governor’s staff and the governor himself are working hard for all Maine people. They should use FOAA as the vehicle for open and transparent government it was intended to be, not as a weapon to serve up baseless political rhetoric and conspiracy driven conjecture.

The governor’s office works daily to help constituents in all situations and walks of life. Using FOAA as a monkey wrench in the gears of an already inefficient government, rather than a tool to enhance government transparency denies constituents the responsive, effective government they deserve.

Groups such as the special interest Maine People’s Alliance, for which Tipping serves as a paid communications director, claim to represent the needs of, among others, Maine’s most vulnerable citizens. This is an admirable goal.

In this role, Tipping himself should know that creating political opposition and administrative gridlock through excessive and meaningless FOAA requests stalls the process of helping all Maine people, especially those for whom he claims to speak.

We should use the tools of open and transparent government with the best of intentions, and remember that for every request made through FOAA for the purpose of manufacturing a political story, there is a constituent waiting in line for assistance with a very real and often urgent need.

Jason Savage is the executive director of Maine People Before Politics. On the web at www.MainePeopleBeforePolitics.com

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