Open Government Project

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“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.” – James Madison

The lack of transparency in government is a problem as old as time. Government employees and elected officials correctly see information as power, and they guard it jealously. The objective of the Goldwater Institute’s Open Government Project is to make government more transparent, and in so doing return some of its power to the people.

• Backdoor Electioneering. Each year, American politicians spend millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to pay for broadcast ads, billboards, and glossy brochures under the guise of “public service announcements.” These same public officials are often featured prominently in the ads, yielding increased name identification and favorability ratings – objects of exceptional value for politicians.
• Transparency in Education. The Arizona Department of Education distorts public school finance and student performance data. Defenders of the educational status quo utilize both distortions as rhetorical weapons to block meaningful education reform.
• Transparency in Government Budgeting. In Arizona, budgeting and spending information is made available to the public only in broad budgeting categories. There is very little information about actual programmatic expenditures.

Goldwater Institute Transparency Policy Reports

Piercing the Fog: A Call for Greater Transparency in State and Local Government

2008 Legislative Report Card for Arizona's Forty-eighth Legislature, Second Regular Session

A New Charter for American Cities: 10 Rights to Restrain Government and Protect Freedom

Student-Based Funding: How to Improve Transparency and Accountability in Arizona Public Education Finance

Shameless Self-Promotion: How Politicians Use Your Money to get Re-Elected

High Fliers: How Political Insiders Gained an Edge in Sky Harbor Concessions

2009 Legislative Report Card for Arizona's Forty-ninth Legislature, First Regular Session

Shifting The Burden: Cities Waive Property Taxes for Favored Businesses

Congress, Ariz. school district sues taxpayers to stop questions

Goldwater Institute Litigation Advancing Transparency in Government

Goldwater Institute v. City of Phoenix

Goldwater Institute v. City of Glendale

Complaint against Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup

Transparency in the News

KGUN Reports on Goldwater Institute Lawsuit Against Mayor Walkup

KOLD Reports on Demanding Government Transparency

KPNX Reports on Whether Glendale Will Pay the Coyotes to Stay?

KTVK Reports on the Goldwater Institute Watching the Phoenix Coyotes Closely

KPHO Reports on Shameless Self-Promotion

KNXV Reports on the Maricopa County Court Tower

Learn More

Learn about the Freedom of Information Act and Arizona's Public Records Laws and how to file your own information requests here.