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Governor Kathy Hochul likes to mention her goal of transparency in the governor’s office.
The State Coalition for Open Government wants to keep Hochul at his word, asking Hochul to replace the choice of former Governor Andrew Cuomo to lead the State Committee on Open Government. Paul Wolf, the president of the coalition, requested it in a letter sent to the Hochul office on Wednesday.
Open government groups were not happy with Bewlay’s appointment, noting his stance against requests for open cases in his position as Office of Information Technology Services FOIL appeals officer and the process at huis clos which led to his appointment in January 2020. Since his appointment, the few mentions of Bewlay in the press have focused on a decision declaring that votes cast by elected officials attending a meeting via Zoom may be invalid unless lawmakers do not give the public the opportunity to attend, listen and observe at any site in which a member participates.
“As executive director of the committee, Bewlay declined to comment on Cuomo not disclosing information about his requested $ 5 million book deal via a FOIL,” Wolf wrote in his letter. “The reason Bewlay gave for not giving an opinion was that the courts did not rule on the issue.
The committee has given numerous opinions on issues the courts have not ruled on, but Bewlay, as a person named by Cuomo, chose to dodge Cuomo’s denial of a FOIL request. What is also troubling is that Bewlay and state employees who are members of the committee do not support allowing the public to have their say at Open Government Committee meetings. The fact that public participation in Committee meetings is even a debate is astonishing. The committee should serve as a model for other public bodies.
Wolf is also calling for changes to the structure of the Open Government Committee and to give it enough funds to hire more employees. Currently, the Open Government Committee consists of 11 members, with nine of the 11 positions controlled by the governor’s office. Currently, the group includes the state lieutenant governor, secretary of state, commissioner for general services, budget manager, five appointments by the governor, including one elected.
The other two appointments are made by the Senate Majority Leader and the President of the Assembly.
“The wrong people are at the table and, as such, the number of appointments of governors and state employees should be reduced and replaced with appointments by the comptroller, the attorney general, the media, the Association of Municipal Clerks, Association of Counties and Open Government Advocacy Groups. Wolf wrote. “The committee should also be empowered to appoint a chairman of the board and hire an executive director so that he can function independently and not be accountable to the governor.”
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