Oneida County sheriff Grady Hartman will be honored with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s inaugural Sunshine in Government award.
The award, launched this year by the WNA Board of Directors, recognizes efforts by Wisconsin citizens and public officials to protect and strengthen open government. It will be presented during the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame Banquet on Thursday, Nov. 10, at The Madison Club in downtown Madison. (Learn more about the event here.)
Law enforcement officers have the authority to enforce public records laws, but it’s a rare occurrence. Hartman, who was appointed sheriff of Oneida County in 2013 and is an outspoken advocate for open government, serves as an exception.
In 2019, he launched an investigation into allegations that the Rhinelander city administrator had tampered with public records. It culminated in the execution of search warrants at Rhinelander City Hall.
“They did not execute those warrants to find evidence of mid-management embezzlement,” The (Minocqua) Lakeland Times wrote in a November 2019 editorial. “They did not enter the building to find a politician engaged in contract fraud or in dealing or buying drugs or who was committing election crimes. Rather, they entered the building to protect the people’s right to access the information the people own, and to be confident that information has not been altered.”
Hartman also has spoken out against violations of Wisconsin’s public records law and called for adding requirements that records custodians attend open records training within their orientation period and stay up-to-date with new open records case law.
