For the first time ever, the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government (CFOG) has announced three Mitchell W. Pearlman Freedom of Information award recipients.
Former State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, FOI Commission Public Information Officer Tom Hennick, and The Day reporter David Collins were selected to receive the award.
The award honors government officials, journalists or state residents who've made "significant efforts to foster transparency in government, disclose information vital to the public and ensure that citizens can see their government at work."
The foundation said Lembo kept the state's books and watched over state money while making sure that people could easily access every fiscal aspect of state government.
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CFOG said Hennick is one of the most "reliable and invaluable" employees to ever work at the FOI Commission. He has led many trainings and educational sessions across Connecticut.
Collins, who joined The Day staff in 1979, covered a variety of topics and has earned numerous journalism awards. He frequently used the FOI Act to help him uncover corruption at the port authority, according to the foundation.
In addition to the three individual recipients, CFOG selected Yale's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic as the general public category recipient.
The student clinic is "dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending essential work of news gatherers and protecting freedom of expression," the foundation said. The clinic has provided representation to journalists and documentarians free of charge.
Through one of their projects, the clinic revealed that some state agencies don't take necessary measures to ensure the algorithms they use are working effectively and safely, according to the foundation.
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“Our four winners stood out for their many years of dedication to government transparency, for promoting open and accountable government and their use of the state Freedom of Information Act to inform the public of matters of extreme importance," CFOG President William S. Fish Jr. said in a statement.
The Perlman Awards honor the founding executive director of the state's FOI Commission.
The recipients will be honored at a reception on Nov. 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Mark Twain House and Museum on Farmington Avenue in Hartford. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by clicking here.
NBC Connecticut's Len Besthoff and Leslie Mayes are both members of CFOG.
