Ritter's Chance to Promote Government Employee Negotiations Transparency

Now that his unionization executive order is on the books, will Gov. Ritter continue his back room style of dealings with Big Labor, or will he at least make sure that any and all collective bargaining or "partnership" negotiations are open to the public? That's the question posed by my Sunday Speakout column for the Rocky Mountain News:

Ritter has vowed to retain final executive authority over negotiated matters that will affect the state budget. He has pledged that the "partnership" process will be "cost-neutral." Opening the entire negotiation process to public scrutiny would help keep him accountable to his promise.

No one working to improve customer service should have any reason to fear an open negotiation process. After all, Coloradans deserve to see everything that transpires in collective bargaining over their tax money.

Will Ritter be a champion for government transparency and taxpayer accountability, or for the pocketbooks of his Big Labor campaign backers? Inquiring Coloradans want to know.