Records laws are big tools for the little person

Every citizen in Arizona - and across the nation - has the right to access information from the government. State and federal disclosure laws are the tools to help get it.

"It's very important, especially for the average citizen who wants to take issue with something with their government," said taxpayer watchdog Mary Schuh of Tucson, who has spent much of her life looking over the shoulders of government officials.

"I think the little guys, when taking on the government, must have some weapons they can use without hiring a lawyer," Schuh said.

Those weapons include the federal Freedom of Information Act and the Arizona Pubic Records Law.

"The Freedom of Information Act is a big stick for the little guy," she said.

When tracking taxpayer money, the Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws give the necessary authority.

Taxpayers must pay attention to what government officials are doing, said Schuh, an elected member of the Amphitheater Public Schools board of trustees.

"I go by the rule that if there are three or more public officials together, you should not take your eyes off them," she said.

Bob Kovitz, who has worked in communications for public and private agencies more than 30 years and serves as information director for Oro Valley, agrees.

"The political process, at all levels, and the duties of those offices must be carried out in full public view," he said. "Any citizen has the right to request information and the trend is to let the sun shine on things."

Kovitz said the push to open information to the public came mainly during the Nixon administration and the Watergate scandal. Nixon showed little trust for the public in dealing with the truth, he said.

"But I think the public, in general, is very understanding and forgiving when errors are made public," said Kovitz, "Information stimulates intelligent conversation, and one would hope that would lead to making better decisions."

Open records laws are there for the public, Schuh said.

"People, the average citizen, should use the act when they need it. How can people speak to something when the bureaucracy keeps it a secret document?" she asked.

Schuh said she and other taxpayer advocates have used the Arizona Public Records Law on several occasions, including a few years ago when they were researching financial conditions at Kino Community Hospital.

"There was a report and we kept asking for the report and we couldn't get it," she said.

But the citizens group never gave up.

"After all, the report was paid for with public money," she pointed out. "We finally got it when one of our members filed a request. That's the only way we could find out how bad things were out there."

The group has also used disclosure laws to access information from the Tucson Unified School District, the Northwest Fire District and Amphitheater Public Schools.

"The average citizen is getting smarter, but some are still intimidated by people with titles, and they are intimidated with halls or institutions of learning," Schuh said. "But every taxpaying citizen is equal to anyone who works for the government. And each citizen has the right to petition the government for information."