Terry Mutchler Discusses Transparency in Government in an Interview with WITF

In honor of National Sunshine Week, Terry Mutchler, Chair of Obermayer’s Transparency & Public Data Practice and Founding Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, was a featured guest on The Spark from WITF. The program, titled “‘Sunshine Week’ shines attention on government transparency,” hosted by Scott LaMar aired on March 13, 2023. Terry spoke about the importance of transparency in our governments and how people think of transparency in Pennsylvania.

“On one side, sometimes you have citizens and members of the media that think that every public official is a criminal and that unless you turn over every document your anti-open government, that’s not true. On the other side, you have public officials that often don’t like the public,” shared Terry.

Terry also spoke about how the 2008 open records law made the government in the state more transparent.

“Pennsylvania is considered a leader in it with this law and the Office of Open Records and Transparency in government,” added Terry. 

National Sunshine Week has been celebrated every March since 2005. News media organizations, civic groups, non-profits, schools, and libraries across the United States take this time to promote open government and enlighten the public about their right to government information.

Listen to the full interview here.