Oregon Editorial Boards Slam Dem Gov Kate Brown Over Her Plan To Limit Public Disclosure

Editorial boards across Oregon are calling out Democrat Governor Kate Brown, slamming Brown’s announcement last week that her administration would consider limiting public records requests, a move that could undermine the public’s ability to scrutinize state operations and monitor gender, age, and race pay disparities. Brown’s administration has already come under fire for allegedly allowing “toxic working conditions” in one state agency, and then trying to shield an investigation into it from public disclosure.

The Bulletin editorial board is calling out Brown’s efforts to promote “secrecy,” writing that Brown “has sought more than once either to silence government employees or keep information about them and what they do secret.”

“Brown says she’s committed to transparency, but her actions tell another story.”

The Corvallis Gazette-Times calls Brown’s anti-disclosure efforts “troubling for anyone concerned about the transparency and openness of Oregon state government.”

The Oregonian agrees, with their editorial board noting that “we should be concerned” about Brown’s actions. They write that public disclosure is necessary to ensure that “the state pays employees equitably across age, race, gender and other areas.”

Kate Brown knows that her administration’s failed record can’t withstand public scrutiny, so she’s apparently decided to quash the kind of public disclosure that ensures honest government. It’s time for Oregon to oust Kate Brown and elect a new kind of leader- Knute Buehler.