Dec 15, 2007
Open to the public
- News & Observerletter to the editor

The prospect of New Hanover County state Rep. Thomas Wright becoming the first legislator expelled from the General Assembly in nearly a century provides another jolt to citizen confidence in our democracy. 
 
The state legislative ethics committee charged with looking into Wright's legal woes apparently found enough evidence to warrant a hearing -- which could lead to a recommendation for Wright's removal from office. 
 
When that hearing takes place, it will be fully open to the public -- a first for North Carolina because, until this year, all legislative ethics hearings were held in closed session unless the legislator in question requested an open hearing. 
 
The N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform was the primary instigator calling for all state ethics hearings to be open once probable cause is found. We applaud legislators for heeding this call and changing the law to make all state ethics hearings open. 
 
Government works best in full sunshine. More transparency, not less, is how the people's confidence in our democracy will be restored. 
 
Jane B. Pinsky 
 
Director, N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform 
 
Raleigh 
 
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