Dear LWVCNM Members,
March is Sunshine Month when we shine a light on government transparency, or lack thereof. Please join us for this month’s educational meeting to learn more about transparency and the NM Legislature.
Thursday, March 12th at Noon
WHERE LWVCNM Offices Conference Room, 6739 Academy Rd. NE, ample parking available In person (members and guests only); Zoom (members and general public)
TOPIC: New Mexico’s Legislature: Is It or Is It Not Committed to Transparency?
SPEAKER: Christine Barber, Executive Director, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG)
The League of Women Voters has long been committed to transparency. The LWVUS national public policy position on Citizen’s Right to Know/Public Participation states:
Protect the citizen’s right to know and facilitate informed understanding and public participation in government decision-making.
This position is expanded upon in the LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024-2026:
The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government. The League further believes that governmental bodies must protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings, and making public records accessible.
And, fifteen years ago, LWVNM adopted a comprehensive position on Transparency in State and Local Government.
Our Sunshine Month speaker will share information about whether the New Mexico Legislature has a full-throated commitment to transparency equal to that of the League.
During her presentation to the League of Women Voters, Christine Barber will discuss a new project examining public access to the New Mexico Legislature during legislative sessions.
While every public body in New Mexico — including county commissions, city councils and water districts — is required to conduct business at public meetings and not behind closed doors under the Open Meetings Act, the Legislature is exempt. This lack of statutory transparency raises important questions about what information the public may be missing and whether additional access and accountability measures are needed.
Christine Barber is the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG), a nonpartisan nonprofit that promotes government transparency by helping the public access public records and open meetings.
Before joining FOG, Christine worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Gallup, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and later moved into the nonprofit sector, where she worked with trafficking victims living on the street.
At FOG, she draws on her journalism background to investigate potential violations of New Mexico’s Sunshine Laws by state and local governments. Much of her work also focuses on assisting members of the public who contact the FOG helpline when they encounter barriers to accessing government information.