Our View: To deny the people the right to know what happened
with the Santa Teresa road project is a shameful act of bad
government
It’s disheartening and disenfranchising when local government hides facts from the public. Don’t our leaders make the connection between political cynicism, which manifests itself in embarrassing voter turnout numbers, and their actions? The scramble to hide the truth in the Santa Teresa Boulevard road- widening project is a textbook example.
Here’s the sequence of recent events:
– On Jan. 19, the city breaks the news that there’s a major problem with the roadwork – it’s faulty and rutting has been discovered. Delays for finishing the major westside traffic artery are predicted without an end in sight. A legal battle is expected.
– On Jan. 20, Dispatch reporter Serdar Tumgoren reports that the city paid Granite Construction Company more than $1 million after it knew about the roadwork problems it attributed to the company.
– On Feb. 14, the city said it wouldn’t release documents related to the project – even those it had already corresponded with Granite Construction about – for fear of litigation.
Who’s looking our for the residents of Gilroy?
Not Mayor Al Pinheiro . He refused to exercise independent judgment by deferring to city attorneys. “We have to protect the city first,” he said.
The “city” is, very basically, the residents of Gilroy. The residents do not need protection from knowledge regarding the failure to complete the Santa Teresa road-widening project on time and on budget.
What they need are the answers to basic questions. What they need is a city leader willing to think the situation through and fight for the people’s right to know.
The people have a right to know why the project is going to be delayed indefinitely. The people have a right to know if the $75,000 savings approved by the city to use lime mixed with dirt instead of rock as a base layer caused the problem. The people have a right to know why the city may become involved in a protracted legal battle. The people have a right to know what’s in the expert’s report commissioned to determine what happened.
The $7.5 million road contract is one of the most significant projects in the last decade. To hide the facts from Gilroyans by hiding behind the skirts of lawyers not only lacks courage, it demonstrates a basic misunderstanding: The government is for the people, not for the protection of those employed by the people.
Let the sun shine. Let transparency be the rule, not the exception.
Let the people know what happened and why. Trust them. That’s how a city builds a reputation and a relationship with its residents.
To do otherwise is to mock the very ideals that build the foundation of American government. The people have a right to know. Our elected leaders should understand that, cherish it and work diligently to protect it.
