Shoreline group forms local partnership with Washington coalition for open government

A new citizens group in the city of Shoreline has formed a partnership with the Washington Coalition for Open Government to help promote a better understanding of open-government laws among local residents and local government officials.

The group, the Shoreline Coalition for Open Government, was founded by Richmond Beach resident Jerry Patterson. It is the first local group to affiliate with WCOG, which is a statewide, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending and educating the public about the state’s open-government laws.

Patterson is a board member of the Richmond Beach Community Association, which has battled Shoreline city officials over development permits for a large residential development in a dispute that has reached the Washington State Supreme Court.  Patterson said the long-running controversy has demonstrated that both citizens and public officials in Shoreline need better knowledge and understanding of the state Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act.

The new Shoreline group is fully independent of WCOG and has no legal or financial relationship with the statewide organization.  Patterson said ShoreCOG is modeled after WCOG and intended to promote WCOG’s values of government transparency and accountability at the local level.  ShoreCOG hopes to hold public forums and workshops and to speak out when open-government concerns are raised in the city.

Both Patterson and WCOG President Toby Nixon emphasized that the new group’s purpose is not to take positions on local issues or candidates.  “We share the same values of open, transparent government,” Nixon said. “WCOG’s role is to provide support and information about the public’s right to know and the legal obligations of state and local governments to provide access to public information.”

WCOG was founded in 2002 by a group of individuals representing organizations with a broad spectrum of opinions and interests but all dedicated to the principles of strengthening the state’s open government laws and protect the public’s access to government at all levels. WCOG stands for the principle that transparency and public participation are essential building blocks of good government.

Membership in WCOG and ShoreCOG is open to the public. For more information on membership to WCOG, contact the office at 6351 Seaview Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98107-2664, on the web, or call 206-782-0393. For more information on membership to ShoreCOG, you can contact the office at PO Box 60233, Shoreline, WA 98160, or on the web.