Fifty-year open government effort succeeds in Virginia
After spending more than five decades making government more open at the state and local level, Frosty Landon's efforts have clearly paid off. Virginia is one of the top states for citizen access to public information, according to a 2002 national survey by the Better Government Association.
Frosty, the executive director of the Virginia Coaltion for Open Government, told the Better Government Association that working to maintain and improve the public's access to government information is "always a marathon, not a sprint."
Some of Frosty's major accomplishment include leading the way to the development of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council and helping community leaders in several states set up their own open government groups. According to a 2002 national survey by the Better Government Association, Virginia is one of the top 10 best states for citizen access to government records.
"Democracy works best when voters are informed about what is going on," Frosty told the Better Government Association. "Most people in government are trying to do the right thing. But not everybody is."
"The list is endless of issues citizens come up with in encounters with government," Frosty said. "We've seen citizens fighting from fish hatcheries to $18,000 chartered flights from county commissioners coming back." "Fortunately, we don't see much of this because there are good access laws, and citizens find out before it gets to this level."
Recently, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists honored Frosty with their annual Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame award.
With all of the work he's doing right now - not to mention the fact that the license plate on his car that reads OPEN GOV - it's hard to imagine him slowing down. This month alone, he's been quoted in a half dozen newspaper articles. However, Frosty plans to retire in June 2007.
Congratulations to Frosty! If you want to learn more about how you can use FOIA to obtain information from the government, click here for our guide.
