THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW

Sometimes a person has to step out of their comfort zone and take a stand for what they believe in.  As a resident advocate, policy activist, and member of the WA COALITION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT, I feel a responsibility to do just that:

NFOIC supports lawsuit accusing government agency of repeatedly violating Washington state’s open government laws

Resident claims that King County Housing Authority has established a nonprofit shadow organization to carry out its programs while circumventing the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (April 23, 2013) - With support from the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) and Knight FOI Fund, a public housing resident in suburban Seattle filed a lawsuit today accusing a local housing authority of repeatedly violating Washington state’s public disclosure and open meeting laws.

Cindy Ference, who lives in a King County Housing Authority complex for senior and disabled people in Shoreline, Wa., brought the action after discovering that the Housing Authority has set up an allegedly private nonprofit organization to carry out its programs without public oversight. The shadow organization, called Moving King County Residents Forward, has the same governing board, the same staff and the same offices as the Housing Authority.