LADOT head hiding work from the public

Given all the new communications technology — some of which is encrypted, or at least makes its content very short-lived — it’s no wonder that government officials are curious about recent developments and new messaging apps, same as the rest of us.

But unlike the rest of us, government officials are required by the California Public Records Act and sometimes other formal decrees to keep all their work-related correspondence in order to allow for transparency. They are in the employ of the citizenry, and we have a right to know how they go about doing the people’s business.

Surely this must seem a hassle. But if they didn’t want to be forced to show their work, they could have found a job in the private sector.

That’s why it rankles so much to discover through the research of the Southern California News Group’s investigative reporter Jason Henry that the “general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation used an encrypted messaging application, designed to conceal conversations, while planning out a controversial vehicle tracking program.”