When it comes to public information about how the government is operating, we take a simple approach: More is better than less. Officials should err on the side of openness, which is in keeping with the spirit of the state’s open-government laws.
Unfortunately, the Orange County Board of Supervisors has been insufficiently forthright in publicizing information about the county’s response to COVID-19. To counterbalance that problem, Supervisor Katrina Foley has held regular briefings via Zoom and social-media platforms. Good for her.
She has criticized the county for discontinuing their briefings since December. Now Supervisors Andrew Do and Doug Chaffee have forbidden county staff from taking part in Foley’s town halls – something that Foley believes might be illegal, as the VoiceofOC reported. That seems petty.
Do and Chaffee tout the county’s posting of daily coronavirus numbers and its weekly press releases and media calls. “It is an abuse of power to use county executive staff to self-promote,” they wrote in a statement. There’s an element of self-promotion in everything politicians do, but we don’t view public-information meetings as an abuse of power.
Do’s and Chaffee’s restrictions on healthcare staff participation is the only abuse we see here. “These virtual briefings with county health officers and other experts have helped disseminate accurate health information, debunk myths and answer questions,” Foley responded. We agree that town-hall events are more useful than issuing banal press releases and speaking only to reporters.
The OC Health Care Agency has done a laudable job dealing with the COVID-19 situation and has significant healthcare expertise. We don’t see how their experts’ participation in these short events detracts from their work. In fact, keeping the public informed – and providing expert answers to their questions – is a core part of a health agency’s mission.
“All surrounding county boards of supervisors have public updates during their respective meetings, with some holding weekly news conferences,” the VoiceofOC added. The full Orange County Board of Supervisors isn’t following suit, but it should at least stop interfering with one supervisor’s effort to fill that void.