Murphy guts OPRA and returns us to darkness

By: Mike Kelly
Columnist
USA today Network

..... Some years ago, as a rookie reporter, I covered a small New Jersey town where the police had a clever way of covering up crime.
..... The cops kept two police blotters.
..... One blotter - the one for public viewing - was little more than a convenient dodge of reality. Incredibly, it made no mention of crimes or arrests or even a complaint that a teenage had set off a firecracker or a dog was barking too much. the other blotter - with the truth and the details of police activity and various crimes - was kept out of sight. Many people did not even know this secret blotter existed. If fact, I soon realized plenty of other towns had the same two-blotter arrangement for keeping records and steering clear of the spotlight.
..... I thought of this un-American system of small-town bureaucratic cover-ups this week [06/06/2024] after Governor Phil Murphy gutted the state's landmark law requiring government agencies to open their records to public scrutiny.
..... What Murphy has dun with what he described in a self-serving, five-page statement as "various changes to the Open Public Records Act" is nothing less than turning back the clock in New Jersey to the days of those dueling police blotters, when for too many petty bureaucrats hid the truth form the citizens who actually paid their salaries.
..... In that small town i covered, the public's blotter, which was kept at the front desk of the police station, was filed whit just the barest of facts. A crime might be reduced to a "call form a resident," a horrific murder was an "incident." It was laughable, yet deeply sad to read.
..... the goal as I soon learned, was to convey to the world this small town had no problems. Real estate investors and other businesses need not worry. The town was safe. The police were never to be questioned.
..... It was image-making at its worst - and on the taxpayer's dime.
..... the other blotter with such details as the times and places of alleged crimes, the names of suspects and the observations of offices could be found in a back room, under the control of the chief who saw himself as something of a public relations manager of information in a banana republic, not a law enforcement official in a democracy that purportedly valued transparency and freedom. Reading those blotter - and its accompanying records - was off-limits.
..... As a reporter, I grew to depend on sources to tip me off that a crime had been committed. then, I had to bang on doors and sometimes buttonhole officials to piece together what happened, Needless to say, I was not well-liked by this town's officials. The cops and town officials worried more about me then the criminals I wanted to write about.
..... Murphy insists he is really modernizing and streamlining New Jersey's progressive system of forcing government agencies to be more transparent. really? the deeper question, with its political moral and legalizations, is whether Murphy actually knows what he has set loose.
..... Let's start with the timing of Murphy's decisions to approve state Senate bill 2030, which sets new limits on how ordinary citizens - and journalists and lawyers and various activists - can gain access to government records, Murphy signed the legislation on June 5 [2024] - the day before America commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France.
..... Was Murphy even aware of the symbolism of him gutting a process of preserving freedom of information as the rest of the nation prepared to remember how its soldiers rushed toward the guns of Hitler's Nazis to save freedom and democracy? Let's just say hat Murphy seemed clueless to this moment in history - and the train-wreck collision of principles he set off.
..... This is not to say that Murphy ignored what he had done. Let's give him sum credit for trying to acknowledge that his decision was not pleasing to everyone. After all, Murphy's five-page, single-spaced statement ran of for some 1,900 words.
..... But those words came off as just another PR-generated hug before Murphy placed a symbolic noose aorta the neck of anyone who called for government transparency. The governor stated that he wanted "to acknowledge" that "this decision will disappoint many members of the advocacy community, including a member of social justice, labor, and environmental organizations, among others."
..... The list was strange - at best. it included only progressive whose support Murphy craves. He did not mention critics such as the coalition that opposed his ill-conceived plan to build wind farms along the Jersey Shore. Nor did he mention the opposition from the state's diverse collection of journalistic organization that range from new digital platforms to long-established TV and newspaper outlets.
..... Murphy went on to say that he has :"heard the many objection to the bill directly, and I know that they are made in good faith and with good intentions." Ne noted that he wanted to "commend everyone who has engaged in this debate for making their voice heard, which is the foundation of our democratic system.
..... He also acknowledged that "we are living in a moment where our democracy feels more fragile than ever" and that "The mos troubling concern that I have heard is that signing this bill will both enable corruption and erode trust in our democracy." to emphasize the point and perhaps remind us that he has some knowledge of the outside world, Murphy even mentioned that this new legislation to cut back on transparency comes as America copes with "a former president who has been indicted for inciting an insurrection during his final days in office" and "that closer to home, New Jerseyans across the political spectrum feel betrayed and outraged by the serious allegations that our senior United States senator accepted bribes form a foreign government."
..... But Murphy signed the bill anyway. It was as if the opposition was just noise to endure.

Who is Phil Murphy, after all?

..... In his words - and, finally, with his signature - Murphy showed the truth of who he is. Indeed, his support for cutbacks of government transparency opened a window to the governor himself - and whether he even understands the notion of transparency in public life. when he left his Wall Street career to run for governor of New Jersey nearly eight years ago, Murphy seemed a perfect fit for public service. After making all the money on Wall Street, Murphy insisted he wanted to give something back as a government servant, first as ambassador to Germany and then as New Jersey's governor.
..... In a not-so-subtle manner, Murphy even hinted that he wanted a national role after he left his perch in Trenton.
..... And why not? Murphy seemed articulate, smart, with a progressive streak that seemed appealing to the new generation of Democrats. Yes, he was steeped in the world of business. But unlike Donald Trump , another New York businessman who was in the White House at the time, Murphy seemed to understand that politics was not just about power and himself. It was about ideals and the common good.
..... But amid all the polite rhetoric and the progressive proposals, something always seemed missing with Murphy.
..... Some of the trouble emerged last fall, [2023] with Murphy's silly plan to push his inexperienced wife, Tammy , into a campaign to replace Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate. Thankfully, Tammy had the good sense to drop out, realizing that she had little connection with voters.
..... But now, we know the problem with Murphy's understanding of politics and the role of government service has always been far more basic - and troubling - than just trying to push his wife into a U.S. Senate seat. Simply put: Murphy never understood that the spirit of politics is rooted in checks and balances. In other words, if you want a spot in the public arena, you must accept the public's spotlight.
..... Here, New Jersey, is essential ingredient of government checks and balances is transparency. And the strongest pillar of transparency in government was the Open Public Records Act.
..... Phil Murphy, the alleged progressive, has turned that law into a joke.
..... He's reminded us that he's just another bureaucrat. His field of vision ends with himself and his pals. He belongs in that small town where the cops kept two blotters.

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