Candidates for Norman City Council, House District 44 sign Open Government Pledge

Two candidates for Norman City Council Ward 4 have signed FOI Oklahoma Inc.'s Open Government Pledge.

By doing so, Carol Dillingham and Austin Dyches each promised, "I and the public bodies that I am elected to govern will comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws."

Dillingham, the incumbent, faces Dyches and two other opponents in the March 2 election.

Norman's two mayoral candidates also have made the same commitment.

Isaiah McCaslin, a Democrat seeking the state House District 44 seat in Norman, also has vowed to support open government in Oklahoma. He is the first candidate for a legislative seat in the fall 2010 election to sign the pledge.

Legislative candidates specifically promise to "support legislation to strengthen the letter and the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws."

Freedom of Information Oklahoma Inc. invites other legislative candidates and those running for statewide and municipal offices to sign the pledge.

Instructions and a list of signers for the 2010 elections can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s Web site.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in spring 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.

For the 2008 and 2009 elections, 58 candidates for local or statewide offices signed the pledge. Of those, 28 were elected.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism