Transparency that depends on self-reporting isn’t transparency

By: Tim McConnehey

Outlets: Utah News Dispatch

Published: April 7, 2026

Words: 758

Last Updated: 3 months, 3 weeks ago

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Utah’s public-records law broke down in the simplest possible way: I asked for records, the Jordan School District said it had none because an elected official used a personal Gmail account, and when I pressed further, I was told he frequently deleted messages and had produced all he could find.

That is not transparency. It is an honor system. And honor systems fail precisely when the incentives change — when the public is asking hard …

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