Norman councilman proposes city advisory committees meet publicly, city officials end practice of deleting emails daily

Committees advising the city of Norman would have to abide by the state Open Meeting Act and city emails would be kept for at least one year, under a proposal by Councilman Tom Kovach.

Kovach also wants executive sessions of the city's public bodies to be recorded.

His proposal is on the agenda for the City Council's regular meeting Tuesday.

Under what would become Norman's first records retention policy, "all records, written and electronic, shall be retained for at least 1 year unless there is pending litigation, in which case it will be retained for at least 2 years after the ultimate disposition or the resolution of the litigation."

"I have received stiff opposition to even this limited time," said Kovach. "Staff insists this will put a burden on our existing storage capacity and is trying to limit this. It not perfect but it is better than what they do now, which is delete every day."

Under Kovach's proposal, "all meetings of committees, sub committees and ad hoc committees" would be subject to the Open Meeting Act and to a state statute requiring that notices and agendas for regularly scheduled meetings be posted on the public body's website.

Kovach said this provision is intended to cover advisory committees, even those appointed by the mayor, regardless of whether they have actual or de facto decision-making power.

Kovach is one of five Norman council members to have signed FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge as candidates. The others are Carol Dillingham, Hal Ezzell, Roger Gallagher and Mayor Cindy Rosenthal.

Each promised to "support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power."

Kovach's proposal would do just that.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications


The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.

Incumbents promising open government win re-election in Norman

Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal and Ward 4 Councilor Carol Dillingham were re-elected Tuesday night, the Norman Transcript reported.

Each has pledged, "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."

By signing FOI Oklahoma Inc.'s Open Government Pledge, Rosenthal and Dillingham also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into a Norman city councilman's complaint that the council violated the Open Meeting Act during an executive session on June 9.

Councilman Tom Kovach, who also has signed the Open Government Pledge, had contacted FOI Oklahoma on June 18 about the meeting. He believes that the council's discussion about financing the Rock Creek Road overpass at Interstate 35 violated the law because the agenda item for the executive session listed only the acquisition of right-of-way for the construction.

Perhaps because of the OSBI investigation, open government seemed to be a campaign issue in Norman.

Rosenthal's opponent, Ward 3 Councilor Hal Ezzell, signed the pledge in December.

Rosenthal received 54 percent of the vote.

In the Ward 4 race, one of Dillingham's three opponents, Austin Dyches, had also signed the pledge.

Dillingham received 72 percent of the vote.

Let's hope open government remains a priority for the mayor and council and that they live up to their promises.


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

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