Comptroller Kevin Lembo and petitioning gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti were among the 10 percent of Connecticut candidates who have signed a pledge to support the Freedom of Information Act, according to an open government advocacy group.
Earlier this month, the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information mailed letters to 360 candidates, asking them to oppose weakening the state’s public document disclosure law and to require public hearings for any attempts to change the law.
About 10 percent have chosen to sign it.
“This is new on Connecticut’s political landscape and I’m not surprised that many politicians have so far delayed signing the pledge,” James Smith, the group’s president, said in a statement Monday.
According to Smith, Lembo, who has pushed for government transparency during his first term, responded to the letter with “where do I sign?” Visconti, an unaffiliated candidate for governor, signed and promised to “streamline the FOI process by making access to information more timely and more easily accessible.”
Neither Gov. Dannel P. Malloy nor his Republican opponent Tom Foley have signed the pledge. Malloy’s campaign told CTNewsJunkie he would sign the document, but has not done so yet. Meanwhile, Foley said he supports FOI, but does not sign pledges.
Democrats and Republicans in legislative races have signed in roughly equal numbers, Smith said. He said it was significant that a number of incumbents in leadership positions have signed on, including Sen. Joan Hartley and Reps. Peggy Sayers, Bob Godfrey, Elissa Wright, and Mary Fritz.
Here’s a link to the list of 37 candidates who have signed the pledge since Oct. 29.
