Transparency matters
There is nothing wrong with political parties hosting public meetings.
There is nothing wrong with Democrats inviting legislators to answer questions from constituents. There is nothing wrong with Republicans doing the same. Public engagement should be encouraged wherever it happens.
But there is something wrong when people are left wondering who is really hosting the conversation, and an even bigger problem when only certain
officials or candidates are invited to attend or participate.
Last week’s town hall featuring Sen. Ogden Driskill and Rep. J.D. Williams at the Weston County Senior Center was introduced by moderator Deb Piana as a nonpartisan event. The public notice stated it was organized by “concerned citizens.”
Yet the meeting was run by the Weston County Democratic Party, where Piana serves as chair. It was not organized by The Concerned Citizens of Weston County, despite the similarity in the wording.
That distinction is not trivial.
Political parties should never feel the need to hide behind generic labels. If a political party hosts an event, it should proudly identify itself as the sponsor. Transparency allows citizens to understand who organized the meeting, who selected the speakers and who established the format before they ever walk through the door.
If the goal truly was a nonpartisan discussion about issues before the Legislature, another question naturally follows.
Where were the Freedom Caucus legislators?
Much of the discussion centered on legislative priorities and disagreements between Wyoming’s traditional Republicans and members of the Freedom Caucus. Yet neither Rep. Chip Neiman nor Sen. Cheri Steinmetz — both elected Freedom Caucus members representing portions of this area — were invited to participate, answer questions or defend their positions.
Instead, former Rep. Allen Slagle, himself a Freedom Caucus member, found himself responding to many of those criticisms and explaining the philosophy that guides the caucus.
Slagle is certainly capable of articulating those positions, but he is not an elected member of the Legislature. When an event bills itself as nonpartisan and seeks to educate the public, the citizens would have been better served by hearing directly from the legislators whose records and decisions were being discussed.
A true town hall invites differing viewpoints to the same table.
That doesn’t mean every event must include every political perspective. Organizations are free to host meetings featuring whichever speakers they choose. But when an event is presented as nonpartisan, the expectation changes. Nonpartisan suggests a genuine effort to present multiple sides of an issue, particularly when those sides are represented by elected officials serving the very people
in attendance.
The meeting also demonstrated the challenge every moderator faces.
At one point, Piana halted a heated statement from citizen Stan Jasinski as the exchange became increasingly confrontational. Every moderator has a responsibility to maintain civility so meetings remain productive rather than devolving into shouting matches.
Order is necessary, but so is consistency.
Citizens should be free to ask difficult questions, challenge elected officials and disagree with one another without fear that the conversation
will be cut short simply because it becomes uncomfortable. Respectful but spirited debate is the hallmark of a healthy democracy.
Weston County needs more public forums, not fewer. We need Republicans hosting discussions. We need Democrats hosting discussions. We need civic organizations, nonprofits and community groups inviting elected officials to answer questions face to face.
But if we want public confidence in those conversations, we must begin with honesty.
Tell people who is sponsoring the event. Tell them who was invited. Tell them who declined, if anyone did. If only one perspective will be represented, say so. If multiple viewpoints are participating, celebrate that fact.
People are perfectly capable of deciding whether to attend.
What they should never have to do is guess who is behind the microphone.
When it comes to politics, transparency doesn’t weaken public discourse.
It is what gives it credibility.
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