AUGUSTA – The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition is pleased to announce that the recipient of its 2014 Maine Sunshine Award is Sharon Leahy-Lind. The award was presented to her this morning at a State House news conference.
Ms. Leahy-Lind is the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Local Public Health. In June 2012, a CDC supervisor ordered Ms. Leahy-Lind to destroy public documents to evade a Freedom of Access Act request from the Sun Journal. She refused to do it, and instead, she stored the documents in her office. Some months later, Ms. Leahy-Lind filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission alleging violations of Maine’s Whistleblower Protection Act. At that time, she said, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and it is my goal to shine light on one area of state government that is broken and causing harm to me, and the people of Maine.”
After Ms. Leahy-Lind refused to destroy public documents, she said she was harassed and assaulted by others at the CDC. After enduring months of hostility, Ms. Leahy-Lind took a medical leave, and when she returned to work the documents that she had so carefully stored were missing. Ms. Leahy-Lind’s righteous stand to reveal a governmental violation of public trust resulted in a review by Maine’s Office of Program Evaluation & Government Accountability. In December 2013, OPEGA released a report confirming Ms. Leahy-Lind’s allegations, including the fact that CDC officials ordered the destruction of documents. The public would never have known documents were destroyed unless Ms. Leahy-Lind resolutely stepped forward, risking her health and her career. As a result of her actions, the Government Oversight Committee is now working to ensure better document retention processes are in place at CDC and that anyone who may have violated the law is held accountable.
Sharon Leahy-Lind is a shining example of courage in the protection of public access, and the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition is pleased and proud to award her its 2014 Sunshine Award.
The MFOIC Sunshine Award is intended to honor citizens, journalists, media organizations, or community groups that have championed, protected, and promoted public access to government meetings, public records, and court proceedings, or otherwise promoted the public's right to know and to publish, broadcast, and speak freely about issues of public concern. March 16-22 is national Sunshine Week. The nationwide observance of Freedom of Information Day on March 16 commemorates the birthday of President James Madison, a strong advocate of the public's right and duty to know what its government is doing.
MFOIC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation representing individuals and organizations committed to open access to public information in print, electronic and digital formats. The Coalition includes media representatives, attorneys, librarians, state and local government officials, educators and others who care about transparency in government, information access, and the role of an informed citizenry in a democracy.
