Montana governor opens cabinet meetings

MONTANA — Montana Gov. Marc Racicot announced in early November that all his meetings with cabinet officers, including meetings with only some cabinet officers, will be open to the public. Under the new policy, the governor’s meetings will be closed only if there is a compelling need to protect some person’s privacy.

The Associated Press reported that in announcing the change, Racicot told cabinet officials to “take every opportunity to openly discuss the people’s business. Let them own this government.”

The Republican governor, who has held office for 11 months, said he discovered a strong mistrust of government while traveling the state. An attitude of openness would rekindle trust in government, he said.

The governor also announced that he would make public the names of all applicants for appointment to boards or commissions, and said he would consider changing a state policy of withholding the names of all applicants for state jobs.