Mike MacFadzen: Transparency and accountability should not be dirty words

To The Daily Sun,

Transparency, accountability and responsibility are not dirty words or accusations of corruption. They are words that describe the expectations of citizens from their government at every level. That is at the local, state, county and federal level. These expectations are reasonable and do not have to be met by our leaders expecting citizens to have to attend meetings in person or online. These expectations can be met by making access to information, meeting times and locations, and documentation easier to access. Likewise, our elected officials do not have to take these words as accusations of corruption or wrongdoing. When talking about local politics this lack of transparency, whether real or perceived, thrives due to the confusing and convoluted documents posted online. All meetings are announced in several different ways and meetings are noticed in the newspaper, but these are easy to miss. People are interested in knowing, and have the right to know what their government is doing, and where their tax dollars are being spent. They are often not able to attend meetings due to them being scheduled at times they may be working or being involved in their family activities. They should be able to access these meetings easily, whether on the city website or various video media sources. This is where the perception of the lack of transparency happens. Minutes are often difficult to find, videos are unable to be accessed, or meeting notices are missed and subcommittee meetings are not always published in the newspaper. The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 4, and if readers want a city councilor who will work to minimize the perception of the lack of transparency, please consider me for the Ward 1 city council seat.

Mike MacFadzen

Laconia