Bob Schaffer Works to Shine the Light on State Education Board Business

U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer is currently vice chair of the Colorado State Board of Education. In that capacity, he is working to leave a legacy of open and transparent government. Two stories by Berny Morson in today's Rocky Mountain News highlight Schaffer's work, but they also point to the fact that he fights an uphill battle against Democrats as well as members of his own Republican Party.

First, Bob Schaffer pushed to get the State Board to hold a public, recorded vote on litigation surrounding the governor's property tax hike.

To no avail, says the Rocky, but Schaffer has another idea that the Board could follow to bring needed open government:

State Board of Education members would post their expense accounts online under a resolution that could come up for a vote next month.

Apparently no other Colorado board posts its members' individual expenditures.

Board member Bob Schaffer offered the motion after criticism from legislators that the seven-member panel spends too much on travel and meals.

Schaffer, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, said posting the expenditures might put the criticism to rest.

The resolution could come up for a vote at the board's May meeting at the earliest.

Part of Bob Schaffer's broader bipartisan appeal is his consistent devotion to the principle of open and transparent government.