A Putnam City School Board member has promised “to support legislation to strengthen the letter and the spirit” of Oklahoma’s open government laws if elected to the state House District 84 seat. In signing FOI Oklahoma’s Open Government Pledge for legislative candidates, Tammy West also promised “to support at every opportunity” the state’s public policy 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.”

West is facing Democrat Will Hollander in the Nov. 8 election. Republican incumbent Sally Kern was term-limited.

Hollander also has signed the Open Government Pledge.

House District 84 includes parts of Bethany, Oklahoma City, Warr Acres and Woodlawn Park.

West was elected to the Putnam City School Board in 2009 and re-elected in 2014. She served as president of the board in 2013. West has owned and operated Wellness Plus for more than 20 years, according to her campaign website.

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

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