Robbie Alm: ‘Father of Hawaii’s Public Records Law’
The former HECO exec has a long history with government transparency, Ian Lind reports.
Local blogger, investigative reporter and Civil Beat columnist Ian Lind has a good reminder in his blog today that it’s important to look beyond the current political sentiment when judging people.
Lind recounts the very important role Robbie Alm played in developing Hawaii’s public records law, the Uniform Information Practices Act. It turns out Alm, who is probably better known for his longtime role as a top executive at Hawaiian Electric Co., was the director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in 1988 when then-Gov. John Waihee created the UIPA after a blue-ribbon commission put forth a comprehensive proposal.
Lind was a member of that commission and has remained a staunch supporter of open records and government transparency himself.
Alm has been in the news lately in his role as a top advisor to Gov. David Ige. His support of Castle & Cooke lobbyist Carleton Ching to head the Department of Land and Natural Resources didn’t go over so well with a lot of people.
But read Lind’s blog post today and you’ll likely have a more charitable view of Alm.
Full disclosure: Alm also is the president of Collaborative Leaders Network, which is funded by Omidyar Group. Pierre Omidyar is the publisher and CEO of Civil Beat.
