State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

D.C.'s open-government watchdog took her job seriously. Then she lost it.

The Washington Post: D.C. lawmakers voiced concern Monday about the unexplained removal of the District’s government-transparency watchdog, who said that she faced pushback from other public officials — including in the office of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) — as she sought to enforce the city’s laws on open meetings and records.

D.C. Office of Open Government Director Traci L. Hughes learned last week that the panel that oversees her office had voted unanimously not to reappoint her. The board voted in closed session, as is common in internal decisions affecting employees, and has not disclosed its reasons for seeking a replacement.

Hughes said Monday that she had faced pressure to pull punches in her role of policing District agencies’ compliance with the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act. “I resisted the pressure, and I do think that that’s probably part of the reason that I’m in the position that I’m in today,” she said on the “Kojo Nnamdi Show” on WAMU-FM (88.5).

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