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[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

The regents and their legal advisers argue that because the regents did not officially adjourn from the regular meeting in Cedar Falls, they could continue to meet over the next week without telling the public.

That's despite Iowa law requiring public notice of time, date and place for all meetings.

That's despite the Iowa Open Meetings Law's clear directive that ambiguity "should be resolved in favor of openness."

That's despite the decision blatantly violating the spirit -- and we believe the letter -- of the law.

Why is this rolling meeting so terrible?

Because your city council, school board or other public agencies could discuss raising your taxes, changing school boundaries or making other decisions that affect you without you knowing that the discussion is taking place. That goes against the openness and fairness that Iowans stand for, and we all need to speak up against it.

Don't let this precedent stand

If the Board of Regents -- arguably the most visible public board in the state -- can get away with this type of legal shenanigan, then why couldn't every other agency use this rolling meeting strategy to avoid public scrutiny? They could just wait until the end of a regular meeting, refuse to clearly close the meeting and then hold secret sessions and quickly affirm those sessions in an open vote.

It only takes a little Iowa common sense to recognize this precedent as a major threat to open government in our state. Unfortunately, most of our public officials either don't recognize the threat or don't seem to care.

The president of the Board of Regents, Michael Gartner, has said repeatedly that he and his fellow regents are only trying to hire the best candidate. Although everyone wants the best president possible, we do not believe jeopardizing open government is the way to get there. The "hiring-the-best-candidate-possible" excuse is a cop-out. There was no need to open this rolling meeting Pandora's box.

It's dark irony that Gartner, who has spent much of his life as a journalist working for open government, made sure this process was closed. We also are surprised and disappointed that the other regents failed to put a stop to this.

Gov. Tom Vilsack's spokesperson said, "(I)t is not something he would get involved in. The governor appoints very capable people to handle these types of situations." ("Fallout continues from Regents' decision," Nov. 21) This, too, is a cop-out.

Vilsack and Gartner are political pals. Vilsack appointed Gartner to the regents. Gartner was one of about 50 "heavy hitters from around the country" who met with those exploring the Vilsack presidential campaign in Chicago in September. "Gartner plugged Vision Iowa and explained how the media couldn't help but latch onto Vilsack," The Des Moines Register reported. But Gartner's actions as regent president can only hurt Vilsack's presidential chances.

Contact legislators, regents, governor

Governor-elect Chet Culver said Tuesday that he wants the details of the search and will look into possible open meetings violations. ("Criticism of regents search continues," Nov. 22) Culver seems to be the only official here even making a nod toward cleaning up this mess -- even though it isn't his mess.

For the record, we believe that rolling meetings are illegal as well as improper and undemocratic.

Michael Gartner and the other regents should admit they made a mistake and that their rolling meeting was improper, at best. If Gartner doesn't do so, Vilsack should learn the details of the rolling meeting. He can do that by picking up a couple of newspapers and picking up his phone to call Gartner. In that call, he also should ask Gartner to resign immediately.

There's also a role for legislators in this -- just because Democrats have swept into control of the statehouse doesn't mean they shouldn't hold our powerbroker regent president and eight-year incumbent governor accountable for good government.

If Gartner and Vilsack don't take action to halt future "meetings in perpetuity," Culver will have to.

All Iowans should contact their legislators, the regents and the governor to put a stop to this nonsense.