Knowledge is Power

Those who control knowledge, control power. Those who seek power like to keep their constituents in the dark.  When folks are uninformed they lose interest in local government and don’t seem to care about the goings on at City Hall.  When the public loses interest they tend to let officials get away with petty infraction. The result is bad government.

When local government is corrupt it is because folks aren’t watching.  They can’t watch if they don’t know what is happening and are kept uninformed.    In Nome we have a city manager form of government and our city manager has stated that he will not post announcements in the paper unless it an absolute legal requirement. He feels it is all he needs to do is post it on the city bulletin board. He seems content with having folks think it is a philosophical disagreement with the newspaper publisher that is the problem. Well, perhaps he is right. The publisher believes the public should be informed and that the positions requiring input and involvement should be announced in the paper. The city manager should be fiscally responsible but not cheap.

When the public finds an unannounced city event or policy appointment they can ask that the event be rescheduled and the announcement be published in a format where all can see the event. Why is our city government so tight with public information?  Why is the city manager not doing all he can to keep the public informed about openings and public meetings? Knowledge is power and so is the control of power. We don’t need tyrants in city government. —N.L.M.—