Steve Mondragon’s Position on Transparency And OPRA

Jun 24, 2023

Steve Mondragon candidate for Berkeley Heights Town Council adds his voice to the local discussion on proposed legislation seeking to change OPRA and Transparency

-Steve Mondragon

Trust is a fundamental principle in a representative democracy. Without trust, the system doesn’t function properly. That trust is earned, not given. It takes time to nurture and cultivate, and needs constant tending to bear prosperous fruit. Transparency, amongst many other factors, plays a major role in feeding that trust between elected officials and their constituents. The need for a transparent system of governance cannot be overstated. Many of the issues we face today stem from a lack of transparency which fuels distrust at every level. When elected officials owe more allegiance to the party, self interests and not the people, discord begins to sow its roots. There is a partnership where the taxpayers trust elected leaders to do the right thing. However, it is a duty of the representatives to report facts and details to the residents, represent their best interests and include them in as much of the decision making process as possible.

OPRA (Open Public Records Act) requests are the proper tool to acquire such communication. This tool is there to facilitate transparency and should not be looked at as anything more onerous than that. Fee shifting is the only thing that gives OPRA teeth. Without fee shifting, there would be virtually no recourse to refuse valid requests for public information as it would require someone following a project to spend up to $1000 of their own money to get a document they technically own. One thing to note is that no lawyer will take a case where they think they may lose and not get paid. When a lawyer takes a case that involves fee shifting, they only get paid if they win so they are very particular on which cases they accept. Think of it like a silent owner of a company. Would a silent partner just be ok with the managing partner’s word that he is doing a good job even when reports that he requested are denied? In the end, these documents belong to the people and aren’t the property of the town or the Board of Education. You paid for them. It is a way for us to keep tabs on if our elected officials represent their fiduciary duties to us.

I stand for full transparency in government and feel it’s the obligation of the government to not only answer to the taxpayers but also to stand accountable for decisions made or not made on their behalf. Too often in NJ we’ve seen special interests and secrecy rule the day. We’ve accepted the narratives and stereotypes of Hollywood’s vision of NJ as acceptable for the citizens of this State, but in the information age, this is no longer acceptable. We must stand for transparency. If the public is funding actions or initiatives, it’s their right to not only ask pertinent questions but have access to that information as well. For too long, we’ve accepted the status quo, but NJ deserves better.