WashCOG recognizes open government advocates at yearly event

Local attorneys Michele Earl-Hubbard and Joan Mell were honored for their contributions to the Washington Coalition for Open Government and efforts to promote sunshine in Washington, and local journalists from The Seattle Times, McClatchy News and Crosscut were recognized for their reporting on access issues and the related data that can be obtained through public records laws, at WashCOG’s annual Sunshine Breakfast March 15, 2024 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Earl-Hubbard received the Toby Nixon Award, which is the Coalition’s lifetime achievement award. named after President Emeritus Toby Nixon. It is given yearly to an individual or organization whose long-term commitment to the cause of open government is demonstrated through exemplary words or deeds. Earl-Hubbard, a WashCOG board member since the Coalition’s founding, has been a fierce defender of open government laws and a resource to journalists.

Mell is the 2023 recipient of the James Andersen Award, given to the Coalition’s volunteer of the year. She represented WashCOG in its successful lawsuit against the Washington state Redistricting Commission for violating the Open Public Meetings Act, and is also WashCOG’s attorney in its lawsuit against the state Legislature for claiming a “legislative privilege” to withhold records from the public.

The Kenneth F. Bunting Award for outstanding journalism went to state government reporters Shauna Sowersby of McClatchy and Joseph O’Connor of Crosscut for their collaborative and comprehensive reporting on the state Legislature’s efforts to withhold information from the public under the claim of “legislative privilege.” Sowersby and O’Sullivan published more than two dozen stories on Statehouse transparency, alerting the public to lawmakers’ secrecy maneuvers.

A new award this year recognizes the work of journalists at The Seattle Times. Sydney Brownstone and Taylor Blatchford are the first winners of the Jim and Birte Falconer Shine the Light Award, recognizing work that makes an outstanding, sustained contribution to public understanding and support of the Public Records Act. The team reported heartfelt and haunting stories about the lost patients of the former Northern State Hospital outside of Sedro-Woolley. The award is named in recognition of longtime Seattle residents Jim and Birte Falconer, whose generous support of WashCOG has had a transformative effect on the Coalition.

Other honorees were winners of a WashCOG Key Award, which are given periodically for any party that has done something notable for the cause of open government. They include:

• Stacy Dym, executive director of The Arc of Washington, and Tim Gerlitz, superintendent of Lakeland Village, a state facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dym and Gerlitz worked to preserve records at Lakeland Village, which was established in 1914.

• University of Washington student Jake Harper, who used public records to help students get into UW’s most competitive academic programs.

• Melissa Luck, executive news director at KXLY TV in Spokane, for her advocacy and use of the Public Records Act. She is a member of the state Sunshine Committee.

• KUOW public radio journalists Isolde Raftery and Ashley Hiruko, who were recognized with Key Awards in 2022 – a pandemic year – but were never presented with their certificates.

Learn about our 2023 Sunshine Breakfast and 2022 Sunshine Breakfast.