Nominations Open for Madison-Andersen, Bunting Awards

Nominations are now open for WashCOG’s annual awards, recognizing individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of open government in Washington.

Nominations are due by May 31 for the 2018 James Madison, James Anderson and Kenneth Bunting Awards.

The James Madison Award honors an individual or organization whose long-term commitment to the First Amendment and to open government has been shown through exemplary words or deeds. Named for one of the primary authors of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it is among the highest honors WashCOG bestows to honor transparency advocates. Last year’s winner, Kris Passey, was a watchdog of government as a newspaper publisher, and a cofounder of WashCOG.

The James Andersen Award honors an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the work of the Washington Coalition for Open Government. It is named after James Andersen, retired chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court and a founding member of the coalition. The 2017 winner was Bill Crittenden, who has authored numerous amicus briefs and represented WashCOG and other clients in transparency cases throughout the state.

The Kenneth F. Bunting Award, named for the former Seattle P-I editor and longtime advocate for open government issues in several states, honors journalistic work. Nominees may have used Washington’s access laws to break stories, informed the public of these resources or exposed violations of the state’s transparency laws. It is designed to honor journalism that promotes transparency and openness at all levels of government. Last year’s winner was Susannah Frame of KING-TV, whose investigative work of neglected safety issues at the Hanford nuclear site in Eastern Washington drew on multiple public records inquiries and shed light on an underreported story.

Full criteria, nomination forms, and lists of past recipients are available in the awards section of the WashCOG site. (Madison Award; Andersen Award; and Bunting Award.)

The awards will be presented at WashCOG’s annual Madison Andersen Awards Breakfast on Friday, September 21 at the Washington Athletic Club.