Governor’s order shameful

Just one day after a new public access law took effect, Gov. James McGreevey placed it under fire.

McGreevey signed Executive Order 21, clearly intended to significantly reduce the availability of information that the new law was designed to bring into the light of public scrutiny.

The governor said that he did this in order to protect the state from potential terrorist attacks and to protect residents from having their personal information released.

McGreevey justified this ill-conceived order by invoking the events of Sept. 11.

That was shameful and shows us all the contempt our state’s chief executive has for the people of the state that he promised to "put first" just several months ago.

The Public Records Act was developed during many years of negotiations between right-to-know advocates and government officials.

The act had bipartisan support when it was passed into law last year, and signed by acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco in January.

Surely, Gov. McGreevey was aware of the law’s existence and history prior to getting the keys to the governor’s mansion.

This law is needed in this state for the people to monitor how those in power spend our money.

Looking into a budget or asking to see a site plan before a planning board meeting is not an indication of terrorism.

Yet, the very agencies that agreed to the law last year now seem to find hundreds of needed exemptions.

This law was approved, we should remember, after Sept. 11, and demonstrated the collective will of the people in a state where property taxes and car insurance are spiraling out of reach for most residents.

If anything, McGreevey should do more to open the process of government to the people in the state.

Isn’t that one of the things he promised all those months ago? That he would do things differently?

Well, if this latest debacle is any indication, it will be a very long three and a half years.

Gov. McGreevey should dispose of this order now and let the law do what it was designed to do: provide more important information to the residents government serves.

Taking away the rights of our citizens to have information they need does not hinder terrorism, but rather supports the fear that terrorists need to fuel their activities.