Independent candidate for Cleveland County Commission signs Open Government Pledge

The independent candidate for the Cleveland County Commission District 1 seat says the office will show “full transparency in all of its business on behalf of taxpayers” if he is elected Tuesday. 

Will McCutcheon also has signed FOI Oklahoma’s Open Government Pledge for local candidates, promising to comply with the letter and spirit of the state’s open government laws if elected. 

In signing the pledge, he 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.”

McCutcheon faces Republican incumbent Rod Cleveland in the election Tuesday.

District 1 covers northwest Norman, the outer Moore area and both southwest and southeast Oklahoma City.

On McCutcheon’s website, he says the incumbent county commissioners have promoted “a tradition of limited visibility” that has generally been accepted by residents.

“The strategy of maintaining a low profile and ‘flying below the radar’ on all but a few pet projects will end, and be replaced with proactively looking for opportunities to communicate about all of our projects through media and active presence at local events,” McCutcheon promises.

McCutcheon is a data/configuration management analyst for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, according to his LinkedIn site.

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

Since FOI Oklahoma began the pledge in 2008, 186 candidates have signed — with 95, or 51 percent —being elected at least once. FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge 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
@Joey_Senat

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.