Executive Director’s message:

Growing web of secrecy prompts new WashCOG strategy

September 2026 — Good news came Sept. 2 with the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision to review our case against legislative secrecy. It means the subject isn’t yet closed, which gives us a chance to ask for some clarity.

It’s been a grueling three years since we joined with resident Jamie Nixon against the Legislature’s claim of legislative privilege to withhold documents from the public. The issue looms large in the people’s ability to keep an eye on their governance. We’ve seen a steady push toward secrecy in government for years now.

Fighting for transparency sometimes feels like whacking at cobwebs with a broomstick. You think you’re making headway, but the sticky web clings to everything, and little pieces remain tucked away in dark corners.

But clear them out, we must. Sometimes, that means coming at the problem from a new direction, possibly with a different tool. We were looking beyond the court case when the WashCOG board met for its annual retreat this summer in Redmond.

We took a big-picture look at transparency across Washington to decide what tools need sharpening and which cobwebs need immediate attention. The board members determined that two key elements will hold the top spot on our “to-do” list for now:

1)    Auto-deletions: We expected Gov. Bob Ferguson to announce in August 2025 his decision on whether state agencies would have to save chat messages on Microsoft Teams or could return to an auto-deletion schedule. He did not, so a year later, we’re shifting focus. This isn’t just about the Teams program. It’s about how the government uses chats and various instant messaging systems as a substitute for email and other communication options that create public records. Somewhere along the way, someone decided that instant messages could be quietly exempted from the PRA. However, the technology does not define what a public record is. The content does. Pigeons may not carry the messages anymore, but the carrier was never the issue. What’s important is the message. 

The ability to delete content automatically based on its platform assumes that record is legally disposable. That’s simply false. The argument that these messages are transitory (and therefore just don’t matter) assumes a lot. Millions of chats have disappeared without the public ever getting a chance to view them. They weren’t only about lunch plans and irrelevant banter. We know how chats and instant messages work. We use them ourselves. They allow people to speak to each other in real time. Making them disappear is the same as shredding public documents to hide them from public view. It’s bad, and it has to stop. We plan to talk about it. A lot.

2)    Facts vs. Fiction: We’re also going to talk about realities. For years, we've heard  that agencies are stressed by the volume of public records requests they get, and some have made a big deal out of what they call “vexatious requesters.” These vilified requesters allegedly use “gotcha” tactics to catch agencies in errors that lead to lawsuits that cost the taxpayers money. Even if true, that would only be half the story. While there may be a few out there playing “gotcha,” litigation isn’t easy money. Anyone who has dealt with the courts knows the system is time-consuming and difficult with no guarantee of success. We know some folks who fervently pursue the transparency cause because they believe in it. They push to uncover problems and hope it will result in change. That’s every bit as valid as news organizations uncovering information to inform the public. We all have a right to serve as watchdogs over our government. Unfortunately, settlements don’t necessarily result in change. But they also aren’t built to make people wealthy. It’s worth taking a look at what agencies spend on legal fees to avoid handing over data instead of simply handing over the data. That’s a choice being made at the government level.

Meanwhile, we want more facts. We believe the cries of agency agony over “vexatious requesters” are more anecdotal than factual. Don’t cry foul without facts. Yes, technology has led to the production of more records. But technology also exists to organize it, search it, store it and share it. The government should not invest in technology that suits its purposes then shortchange the public on access. We didn’t pay for faster horses for our public servants to leave us behind in the dust.

To begin setting the record straight, here are some facts we dug up:

• Individuals like you (not journalists or any other category) made up the largest segment of records requesters at 39% in 2024. In second place? The government itself. Agencies requested info from other agencies. Source: Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC)

• Public records lawsuits are rare. Over seven years, data provided JLARC showed agencies had 2.56 lawsuits per 10,000 records requests. That’s no rising tide, as some would have you believe.

• Annual cost of public records requests: Based on 90 government agencies that reported their spending with JLARC, we used Anthropic AI to analyze a data set from 2022. It found .25% of their combined budgets went toward handling public records requests. That is not a crisis. We do not yet have the data for how much was spent by agencies on legal fees to fight and/or settle lawsuits related to public records. We look forward to getting those numbers and comparing it to what was spent on the job of handling records requests.

The “crisis” is overstated, and where there is actual tension, the proposed solutions are poorly considered. In nearly every case, the proposal is another exemption or some other creative way to curtail public access. They fail to recognize that the people’s stake in this matter is paramount. It’s easier to work outside of the public view. But it isn’t better for the Washington residents. Those are our records, paid for with our tax dollars, affecting our lives. And the impacts are increasingly enormous, especially as the internet/tech era reaches new frontiers with AI (impacts still unknown). Secrecy is as toxic and ugly as ever and possibly more dangerous. The people don’t trust their government to do its work in the shadows. It’s that simple. These days, we don’t even trust that the videos and photos we see every day are real. This is no time to dim the lights.

WashCOG needs you to help us share the facts as we gear up for a special year. The coalition celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2027. We plan to paint the state a shiny and illuminating shade of silver. We hope you’ll join us because transparency depends on you, the people of Washington.

Please consider giving some of your time, energy and money to this cause. What happens next affects you, your families, and our collective future. Become a member. Join via our website: washcog.org. And we encourage you to consider donating. We’re actually a small nonprofit with an all-volunteer board doing most of the work. Most of all, get involved!  There’s a lot of work to be done.