2022 Sunshine Breakfast honors Nixon, Clark, Seattle Times for advocacy for transparency
The Washington Coalition for Open Government recognized the work of advocates of open government at its Sunshine Breakfast March 18, 2022 at T-Mobile Park.
The event took place during Sunshine Week and the 20th anniversary year of the founding of the Washington Coalition for Open Government. It honored the 2021 award winners, and had been postponed from September 2021.
Longtime WashCOG president Toby Nixon was honored with the Coalition’s lifetime achievement award, which has been known as the James Madison Award but was renamed for Nixon. Also recognized were Ed Clark, a 10-year member of the WCOG board, with the James Andersen Award as the Coalition’s volunteer of the year; and The Seattle Times, with the Kenneth Bunting Award for outstanding journalism using Washington’s Public Records Act.
Nixon was recognized his ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability in government, through his service with the Coalition and beyond. A Kirkland city councilmember, he is also a former state representative.
“My passion has been to make the government work better than it did, and be more accountable to the people,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Nixon is currently president emeritus of the Coalition, after serving as WashCOG president from 2007 to 2021. Under his leadership, the organization has grown into one of the most effective state coalitions in the country.
“He personifies the spirit of citizen activism and vigilance that has been essential to resist the forces that work against openness and transparency,” said Mike Fancher, current president and longtime board member. See additional information about Toby Nixon here.
Toby Nixon is introduced by David Cuillier, president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and 2020 Madison Award winner.
Ed Clark received the Andersen Award
Ed Clark, a 10-year member of the board of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, is being honored with the 2021 James Andersen Award for his outstanding service to the organization.
“Ed is the person behind the scenes who keeps everything moving,” said Mike Fancher, president of the WashCOG board. “He solves problems before they become problems. He has been a vocal and tireless supporter of WCOG’s mission.”
Clark is executive professional of Clark, Raymond & Co., the firm he cofounded in 1991, and which is also recognized with this award for the many ways in which it supports the coalition’s mission, Fancher noted. See additional information about Ed Clark here.
The Washington Coalition for Open Government presented its 2021 Bunting Award to the staff of The Seattle Times for aggressively reporting on the city of Seattle’s mishandling of public records and for holding public officials to account – to the point of suing City Hall.
Frank Bunting accepted the Bunting Award on behalf of The Seattle Times
In May 2021, an investigation prompted by a whistleblower complaint disclosed that months of the mayor’s text messages were missing and her office had mishandled public records and requests for disclosure.
Over the next eight weeks The Times published an additional five news stories, an editorial and a column on the city’s flawed public records operation. The news stories broke new ground, while the opinion pieces provided interpretation and meaning. Learn more about the Times’ coverage and read its reports here.