Journalists should be natural champions of open government. It's what enables us to do the job of informing readers about how their tax dollars are being used and how their elected officials are performing.

It's surprising, therefore, that you don't see more coverage given on how candidates for public office view open government issues.

Fortunately, there's an organization out there trying to bring the issue to the forefront.

Sunshine Week is a national effort of news media, good-government groups, nonprofits, schools and others to raise awareness about open government issues. The group's efforts culminate each year with a week in which media give special attention to these issues. This year, that week runs from March 16-22.

But the work to promote openness must continue all year.

Sunshine Week is recognizing this with a new effort for the current election cycle. Organizers have launched a Web site devoted to gathering information about where candidates stand on open government issues.

The site can be found by going online to http://www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/candidates.

At the moment, the information is limited to presidential candidates, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out prior to casting a ballot on Tuesday's primaries. I recommend scrolling down to the bottom, where you'll see candidates discuss the issue during debates last month in Iowa.

Sunshine Week intends to develop the site as time goes on. Certainly, there will be much more content from the presidential candidates, whoever they may be. But they also plan to bolster it with views from candidates who are running for Congress or even state office.

One key to remember in evaluating what the candidates say is that all of them are going to say they support open government. No one is going to admit liking secret meetings or withholding information from the public. It's just like taxes - everyone pledges to lower them.

What I'll be looking for on the issue of open government is how much knowledge candidates demonstrate about open government laws, and what ideas they might have for promoting more open government. Do they have bold proposals for using the Internet, for example, to make access to government records easier? And what plans do they have for sharing their work with their constituents?

In the end, we should be seeking candidates who do more than pledge to follow the letter law. We should seek people who embrace the spirit of the law.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's column runs Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net