Gov.-elect Charlie Crist announced this afternoon that his administration will include an “Office of Open Government” led by one of the state’s public-records gurus.
Pat Gleason will serve as Director of Cabinet Affairs and Special Counsel for Open Government in the new office, which will be charged with assuring compliance with the state’s “Government in the Sunshine” laws and training staffers in all state agencies on “transparency and accountability.” Gleason is currently the general counsel and chief Cabinet aide for Crist in the attorney general’s office, and she is an expert on open-meetings and public-records laws.
Joining Gleason in the new office will be another carry-over from the AG’s office. JoAnn Carrin, who has been Crist’s communications director, will become the director of open government.
Darn – I was hoping someone in our county government would get it. But wait a minute – that would mean they would have to start complying with local record requests on a timely basis.