When Chris Wages talks about the free press, government transparency and the role of local media, the Wyoming attorney brings multiple perspectives to bear.  He was once a part owner of a small newspaper. After earning a law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1998, he has been covered by the media as a Sweetwater County deputy prosecutor; Buffalo Municipal Court judge; Kaycee town judge; and 4th Judicial District magistrate and commissioner. He’s also been an elected official, serving two terms as Johnson County attorney starting in 2003.  He’s encountered the media while working on civil cases or defending clients. In private practice since 2001, he opened his own firm in Sheridan and Buffalo in 2015.  For the past two years, the Wyoming Press Association has retained Wages, who overlapped with and then replaced longtime WPA attorney Bruce Moats, who retired in 2023. Longtime Wyoming Press Association executive director Jim Angell, left, and Bruce Moats, the association’s legal counsel. The duo fought for the free flow of information in Wyoming for decades. (Wyoming Press Association/Courtesy) “The WPA provides our members a free legal hotline which gives all 39 newspaper members access to Chris for questions and advice regarding open meetings, open records and public notice issues,” explained Darcie Hoffland, WPA’s executive director. (WyoFile is an associate member of the WPA, but has never been represented or advised by Wages.) “Chris has been called on often to provide counsel to the WPA and our members who work to uphold Wyoming’s sunshine laws for our communities,” she said in an email. WyoFile asked Wages to shed some sunshine on the current state of affairs for Wyoming newspapers when it comes to open meetings and public records. The following Q&A has been edited for clarity.   WyoFile: You’ve been an elected official, a partner in a newspaper and prosecuted and defended cases in court. You’ve personally been scrutinized by the press while running for office and had records examined. What does that experience tell you about the need for sunshine laws?  Chris Wages: I understand from the other side, having been an elected official, that [transparency] can be the least efficient way to do things. But democracy is not efficient. It’s just democratic.  WF: What is a public record?  CW: I have a broad definition that I think is fair. You start with the overarching philosophy that anything the government does should be open to the public. From there, the Legislature has carved out a few exceptions. Let’s not make it unfair for government to conduct business, like purchasing real estate or being involved in a lawsuit. We can’t put them at a disadvantage, making them disclose everything that their competition wouldn’t have to disclose. So there are a few common sense exceptions that should be narrowly applied to public records and public meetings. But basically, the public’s business should be conducted in the bright light of day, and any documents or communications that our government is using should be available to the public. WF: How strong are Wyoming laws when it comes to public records? CW: Not strong enough. I definitely think that’s clear. One problem that we always have is the cost of getting public records and the vagueness of the right to get public records without exorbitant fees. Basically under current laws, they’re allowed to charge for hours spent researching, legal review and redaction of public documents. The fees are all over the map, and so we need more direction from the Legislature in that regard, and we need limits put on what fees can be charged.  WF: What was it like being a partner in a newspaper, the Port Townsend Leader, in Washington?  CW: Mainly my experience on that would be the administrative side rather than the press side. But it’s a pretty decent-sized paper, and it was a busy community. It did give me a perspective — from the local paper — of what kind of resources you have to be a watchdog for the public, advocating transparency and ensuring government officials and governments are held to account. It’s important for citizens to do their part too, to participate and be informed. Oftentimes, readers brought us information that we could follow up on because we didn’t have the resources to be at every single meeting. Like a lot of Wyoming communities, Port Townsend and Jefferson County had an active citizenry. So it was a vibrant paper with a lot of letters to the editor. WF: What does your job as Wyoming Press Association attorney entail? CW: The Wyoming Press Association is working to make sure these laws are being abided by around the state, and it’s a group of publications that has provided resources for just this purpose. I and my staff run what they call the hotline, and that’s when members of the association can call with problems as they come up. We represent members of the association or the association itself in actions to advocate for the free press and for opening public meetings and documents.  WF: What else should the public know about sunshine laws? CW: Sunshine laws are a living entity and change over time. The Legislature is often having to catch up to cutting-edge technology. Now our concern is about social media sites or texting or Slack chats. The press is acting as a watchdog to make sure that the public and government are aware and abiding by the laws. If we don’t exercise our right to access this information, those rights could be diminished or go away. WF: What role do you see Wyoming newspapers playing in their communities?  CW: My experience as a WPA attorney, getting to know a lot of journalists, editors and publishers around the state, has been an eye opener. I see people with a real zeal for unbiased journalism that brings facts to the public. I don’t know if people know how committed some of these local journalists are to getting the information out there to see right into what our government is doing. Then we can decide who we want to represent us and what we want them to be prioritizing. The press plays a critical role in getting that information out to the electorate. WF: What have you encountered while working on behalf of newspapers to obtain public access to records and meetings? CW: I’ve spent my whole adult life here, and I really believe Wyoming is kind of the last best place. A lot of our disputes that we have over public records requests or public meetings, we’ve negotiated and been able to reach a resolution. We’ve definitely had some problems that have become intractable. Oftentimes, that’s when the public meetings or public records act has been useful.  WF: What kinds of violations have you encountered? CW: You’re seeing, more often than not, [public officials] wanting to move more quickly than the law allows or to avoid attention if it’s an unpopular decision. When someone’s trying to hide something, and we’ve had to press harder, I think those are the outliers.  In more than one instance, a board or council has sought to vote by secret ballot to fill a vacancy. Essentially, they don’t want someone to know that they voted against them to avoid embarrassment or awkwardness. That’s not legal.  Sometimes, it’s a bummer being in government in a small town because you make decisions that you think are right and are not necessarily popular. But that’s an important decision where you’re appointing someone who is going to have authority and be doing the public’s work. That needs to be done in public. The post Sunshine Week: A Q&A with the attorney working for Wyoming’s free press appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less