Oshkosh Daily - - A Gannett Paper - - Slams GOP Redistricting Secrecy

The Northwestern - - hardly a left-wing publication - - calls out Republicans who prepared redistricting legislation in secret and had party members sign oaths against disclosure.

Fair minded citizens across Wisconsin should be thanking Republicans in Madison for making clear and convincing arguments for reforming legislative caucuses and the process for redrawing voting district maps.

The revelation this week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Republican leadership in the legislature required lawmakers to sign secrecy agreements regarding the redistricting process runs contrary to the state's statutory commitment to open government. It also draws attention to the fact that the redistricting process took place in secret meetings between the Republican majority and their attorneys. Both are issues that need to be reformed...

The ability of the majority party to craft legislation in secret and compel members to sign secrecy agreements is an abuse of open government that must be fixed if state has any hope of recovering from the political rancor that exists today.

I hope the Dane County DA opens a full-scale investigation, given the intentional evasion of the state's Open Records law.