The Executive Director of Common Cause Michigan says releasing some e-mails does not equal open transparency in state government.
Melanie McElory says the public should be able to review e-mails of members of Snyder’s administration. She says the release also took too long considering that children were poisoned by lead in their drinking water.
Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the governor’s office or the Legislature. McElroy says that’s why groups such as the Center for Public Integrity have given Michigan such low grades for government accountability. She says the state needs to make major changes to be more transparent.
The decision to switch Flint’s water source was made while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. McElroy says there should be more focus on how emergency managers operate in Michigan.
“The more we can open up these emergency management processes to public scrutiny, the more we will be able to check and balance those types of changes.”