EDITORIAL: State GOP chairman confirmed importance of transparency in party politics
In the category of giving credit where it’s due, we must offer praise to those Republicans who ensured the recent meeting of GOP county chairmen from throughout Texas Senate District 22 was open to the public, including the news media.
As chairmen huddled to pick a candidate for the November ballot, State Republican Executive Committee member Janet Jackson told Tribune-Herald staff writer Michael W. Shapiro that reporters could not attend but then, to her credit, went and sought rationale for this rather than simply trying to shut the press out. We can respect that.
While Jackson was away, State GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri arrived at the Waco Hilton, where the meeting was happening, and promptly invited Shapiro into the hall. When Shapiro asked if he could cover the event, Munisteri replied, “Why not?”
Our hat’s off to Munisteri for realizing the business of placing a state candidate on the ballot is ultimately the people’s business. And had such business gone on behind closed doors, without the presence of the news media and anyone else who wanted in, cries of skullduggery might have been justified.
The business of political parties in our history has too often involved murky backroom dealmaking and behind-the-scenes horse-trading and haggling. But with so much at stake in today’s politics, it’s more important than ever that party officials do what they can to ensure transparency. GOP Chairman Munisteri recognized this.
Democrats soon gather to discuss options regarding the November ballot in the very same Senate election. We hope that they’re just as devoted to transparency and accessibility as Republicans proved to be.
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