Citizen Trust In Government Declining, Survey Indicates

By Herman Wang
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Oct. 3, 2006

    By an almost 2-to-1 margin, Tennesseans believe state and local governments conduct too much of their government in secret, according to a survey compiled for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and The Commercial Appeal of Memphis.

    Fifty-six percent of respondents to the statewide poll taken Sept. 25-27 said they feel government business is too secretive, while 30 percent said it is conducted sufficiently openly. Fourteen percent were undecided.

    Those numbers reflect a decline in public confidence in government, as a similar poll conducted for the Times Free Press and The Tennessean of Nashville in 2004 indicated 50 percent felt too much business was done covertly, while 37 percent felt it was done openly.

    Both polls were conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. and carry margins of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

    "Obviously there’s less confidence in government, and most people think there’s too much going on secretly," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon.

    He noted the first poll was conducted before last year’s Tennessee Waltz corruption scandal.

    Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said his organization has seen reports of alleged "Sunshine Law" violations increase by half between 2003 and 2005.

    "Public officials should be concerned that the level of trust and confidence in their performance seems to continue to fall," Mr. Gibson said.

    E-mail Herman Wang at hwang@timesfreepress.com.