An Edmond Democrat has promised "to support legislation to strengthen the letter and the spirit of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws" if elected to the state Senate District 47 seat. In signing FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge, Don Sherry also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

Sherry's campaign site lists government transparency as one of his priorities, noting that the Legislature is exempted from Oklahoma's open government laws.

"Citizens should expect the maximum degree of openness and transparency from their government and elected officials," according to Sherry's campaign platform. "The people's business should be conducted ethically and openly."

Sherry will face Judy Mullen Hopper of Oklahoma City in the Democratic primary on June 28. The winner will face incumbent Greg Treat, R-Edmond, and Oklahoma City independent Steven Weber in the general election on Nov. 8.

District 47 encompasses northwest Oklahoma City and portions of Edmond, Deer Creek, and Bethany.

Sherry was a broadcast journalist at WKY Radio, KOCO-TV and KWTV before joining Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. He spent 26 years at ONG, most of them as manager of communications and the company’s principal media spokesman. He retired from ONG in 2011 and formed Don Sherry Communications, LLC, an independent video production company, according to his website.

FOI Oklahoma invites all candidates for state, local and legislative seats to sign the pledge. Instructions and lists of signers can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s website.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in spring 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.

Joey Senat, Ph.D. Associate Professor OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications Mass Communication Law in Oklahoma

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, its board of directors or the commentator’s employer. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.