Four months ago Jennifer P. Brown and I "met" by telephone and immediately found common ground.

Jennifer is the former editor of the Kentucky New Era. She and I had spoken about open records and meetings issues while I worked in the Attorney General's Office, but we didn't "connect" until confronted with a crisis.

That crisis was the 2019 legislative assault on the open records law. Two bills had been introduced that substantially reduced the public's right to know under the law.

Neither of us can remember who first broached the subject of a citizen-based open government coalition, but in an instant the Kentucky Open Government Coalition was born.

To introduce the Coalition, and alert citizens to the threat to open government, we co-authored the op-ed linked below.

It appeared in a number of newspapers during Sunshine Week, March 2019, before it was clear we had weathered the legislative storm.

The Coalition has since incorporated as a nonprofit, established a governing board consisting of representatives of the media, the legal community, and the League of Women Voters, and established an active Facebook presence.

We are actively engaged with the National Freedom of Information Coalition, which has provided tremendous encouragement and support, and participated in public events and educational outreach. Next week, we will testify before an interim legislative committee.

Opportunities for informing the public about Kentucky's open government law regularly present themselves. As funding becomes available, we will establish a website and offer training across the state.

The future looks bright for the Kentucky Open Government Coalition's mission to ensure that the sunlight doesn't fade in Kentucky.