Bruce Lisman may flatter himself that he is breaking new ground with his call for greater government transparency, but well before Mr. Lisman made this his talking point du jour, Sec. of State Jim Condos rolled up his sleeves and went out to communities across the state to actually teach them how to achieve it.

Such reform is not to be accomplished with a single corrective pass-through; and so it is that Condos’  “transparency tour” is about to hit the road again.

With ten stops throughout the state over the course of November and early December, the Secretary will once again engage public awareness of the issue and provide some fundamental “schooling” for the legions of dedicated amateurs who hold office in our cities and towns.  A complete schedule is included after the “fold.”

Vermont has been getting a bad rep lately for lack of transparency relative to other states; but this is sort of a bad news/ good news situation because one of the reasons why transparency issues have not been fully addressed in the past is because the state has been relatively scandal free.

Oh, there has been that spate of embezzlement scandals, but those were crimes of individual weakness more so than indicative of any systemic corruption.  States like Illinois have made great strides in addressing transparency issues mostly because they have been roiled by high-profile scandals.

Furthermore, a contributing factor to the problem here is the intimacy of most Vermont towns, which leads to excess informality in process and the simple preponderance of conflicts of interest.

That intimacy is a byproduct of our small and fairly homogenous population.  As I have often heard it said around town, “Everyone’s related to everyone else.”

There is a lot to be said for intimacy and informality; and I like to think that they have strengthened Vermont’s democratic roots; but, when conflicts of interest result in a state with insufficient definitions and penalties for that improper influence, those cozy qualitites become our greatest weaknesses.

Mr. Lisman is just the most recent convert to the cause of greater transparency.  We here on GMD have been calling loud and long, over many years, for reforms to the laws governing conflicts of interest; and for full campaign contribution disclosures.

…And Jim Condos has been spreading the word in person about things like the Open Meeting Law since 2011, while at the same time working to make digital public records, so essential to transparent government function, much more accessible to private citizens.

“For those Vermonters who feel that dealing with government is confusing or intimidating: this is the perfect opportunity for you to get your questions answered!” Secretary Condos added that, “It is important that the public know their rights when it comes to attending meetings and access to records; an informed citizenry is what helps hold all elected officials accountable.”

So mark your calendar for a tour date near you and start compiling a list of questions now.

The time and location for each event is as follows:

Mon., Nov 4th     6pm-8pm Hartford Public Library, 1587 Maple Street,Hartford

Wed., Nov 6th     6pm-8pm Public Safety Building, 316 Main St, Lyndon

Wed., Nov 13th    7pm-8:45pm      Fox Room, Rutland Public Library, 10 Court Street, Rutland

Thurs., Nov 14th  6pm-8pm Alumni Hall, 25 Auditorium Hill, Barre City

Wed., Nov 20th    6pm-8pm Lower Theater, Municipal Building, 7 Village Square, Rockingham

Thurs., Nov 21st  6:30pm-8:30pm   City Hall, 575 Dorset Street, South Burlington

Wed., Dec 4th     6pm-8pm Barton Memorial Building, 17 Village Square,Barton

Thurs., Dec 5th   6:30pm-8:30pm   City Hall, 100 North Main Street, St Albans City

Tues., Dec 10th   6pm-8pm Fire Facility, 130 River Street, Bennington

Thurs., Dec 12th  6:30pm-8:30pm    Ilsley Public Library, 75 Main Street, Middlebury