Making the Government Fear the People
By Brandon Holmes
Thomas Jefferson once said, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." Chris Kliesmet and Orville (Orv) Seymer of the Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) Network are busy helping Wisconsinites achieve the latter in their state. Chris describes their “action tank” efforts as “getting involved in helping citizens engage their government.”
Action is certainly something they haven't been short on.
Their latest major project is the creation of a searchable online database of government spending they call the Government Accountability in Spending Project (GASP). Handing over data for 188,368 invoices made MilwaukeeCounty the first agency to post their spending online.
This is only the beginning, however—CRG hopes to eventually include all government spending in the state.
The project came together back in November, when Chris and Orv were joined by other Wisconsin activists at a speech given by Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform in Madison. The group got a chance to chat with Norquist about government transparency after his speech and he suggested CRG create a government spending database for Wisconsin, similar to one underway in Missouri. Thanks to some funding help from the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens in Charge and the Sam Adams Foundation, things came together rather quickly.
After some initial foot-dragging on the part of county officials, an ally was found in outgoing County Director of Administrative Services Rob Henken. Henken arranged meetings that eventually led to the county releasing records for over $1.3 billion that was paid to more than 6,800 vendors.
"To paint a visual picture," Orv explained, "if you were to request these same records in paper form, you would have over 400 cases of paper. At the county rate of 25 cents per page, it would have cost you $48,000 to request these records on paper. Now it's online for free."
"All done," Chris added, "without the need for a formal open records request."
The GASP homepage has a poll where visitors can choose which agency should be next to have its records placed on the site.
"Based on user response," Orv says, "we've drafted records requests for the Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Area Technical College. We anticipate stalling."
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources will then be next to have their spending laid bare.
The group, dubbed "Recalls 'R' Us" by opponents, hasn't just been building databases, however.
They have also launched recall efforts against officials in Calumet County, which is moving ahead with a plan to bring in several 200 to 400-foot windmills and place them on private property, much to the chagrin of the mill's potential neighbors, who will be faced with noise pollution and lowered property values. The mills themselves aren't necessarily the problem; it’s the county board members who are pushing for them because they stand to personally make money from the deal—that is, of course, if they don't get recalled by voters first.
In Vernon County, the pig farmers are the ones who are in with county officials. Board members are overlooking county regulations for pig farmers because the board members stand to personally gain. However, they too are looking at a recall vote, thanks to CRG.
According to Orv, the two aren't unrelated.
"First they come in and build windmills right up on the property line and drive down the property values. Then the pig farmers come in and take the cheap land,” he said. “If you've ever been near a pig farm, you can imagine what that does to the value of the remaining property. It’s the fact that county officials are letting regulations slide for their own gain that we have a problem with."
Overall, CRG hopes to "build a brand for conservative action." As Chris puts it, they’re “the military-industrial complex of limited government." Chris and Orv approach their CRG activities like a business venture; they "tell people the rules of the game" when they want to engage their government. Those who follow the rules usually find success, and that success paves the way for even more success.
"The key is letting government officials know that they are being watched," Chris says, "you can't nail them for everything they do, but if they know that someone, or a lot of people, are watching and able to see what they do, they are going to think twice about doing something that is against the citizens' interest."
Thanks to CRG, Wisconsin elected officials will know that lots of citizens are watching.
