Thank you to Representative Peter Rines of Wiscasset, for writing last week's commentary, "Government Accountability office worth restoring" and for his description of legislation he has submitted which would restore cuts made to the Government Accountability Office (OPEGA) --- cuts he supported just days earlier.

Cynics among us might question Rep. Rines' motives for voting to cut a popular and vital oversight agency then suddenly reverse course a few days later. It's no secret I worked hard to create OPEGA and I am proud of that accomplishment. It's also no secret I plan to run to represent the folks in Senate District 20 seat, against Mr. Rines.

At this point I will reject these suspicions; instead I will take Rep. Rines' actions at face value. I am willing to welcome his support for this critical agency; furthermore, I am publicly calling on Rep. Rines to join me in calling for stronger statutory and constitutional protections for OPEGA.

For me, the partisan, midnight attacks on OPEGA we witnessed over the last several weeks are not a surprise. I was warned long ago by experts in program evaluation that as OPEGA became more effective, they would collide head-on with special interests in Augusta that would prefer to do their work in secret.

There is a great way to stop late night attacks on OPEGA. Let's improve the law. Mr. Rines, join me and support the following reforms:

1. Require a two-thirds vote of the entire Legislature to make changes to laws Governing OPEGA.

2. Let's tie OPEGA's funding stream to inflation. The Director of OPEGA and her staff are designed to be objective, non-partisan, and professional with an eye toward exposing the truth. Sometimes, that truth steps on the toes of people in high places. How can they function and fulfill their mission when at any given time a disgruntled well connected state legislator can make their funding go away in the middle of the night?

3. Require ethical disclosure laws for all reviews conducted by OPEGA. When OPEGA investigators encounter conflicts of interest that involve individual legislators, whether suspicious or implied this conflict should be disclosed as part of the final report.

I want to take a few words to elaborate on number three, regarding improving disclosure laws. OPEGA is currently reviewing 340 contractors and non-profits working for the Department of Health and Human Services. OPEGA released a preliminary report on 2/27/08, just weeks before Sen. Martin, Eagle Lake, moved his amendment to eliminate OPEGA that showed a sample of 28 vendors under contract to the state. Of the 28, 89 percent had been overpaid by the state and owed DHHS payments with interest that totaled over $2.9 million. The overpayment went back multiple years. If just 28 owed almost $3 million, what is the overpayment bill for the 340? Could this be the motive to get rid of OPEGA?

More interesting though, is the fact that one of the Appropriations Committee members working to eliminate OPEGA, is Treasurer/Secretary for one of the non-profits, Northern Maine General Hospital that fell under the scope of the DHHS contractor audit. This relationship is not illegal and I am not trying to imply otherwise, but this illustrates the ethical issues that arise when legislators work for the entities they are responsible for overseeing. Without knowing what transpired in this member's mind it is impossible to know if this relationship with the non-profit had anything to do with his attempt to eliminate OPEGA, but it sure doesn't build public trust. Other states have adopted such protections for their oversight functions in their Constitution, now we know why. This is the only guarantee of true accountability.

Throughout history, government power, money and the influence it holds has been misused. We have no reason to believe this will change. The intricate web of special interest, power and blanket secrecy that existed before OPEGA is unacceptable. Such a system is a breeding ground for cronyism, fraud and mismanagement. This secrecy feeds public mistrust and contempt for government and if left to fester will bring down any government, regardless of its design.

Accountability is vital to our democracy and I have no intention of sitting by while it is undermined in the halls of Augusta. I will fight for the changes in the Legislature and I have already met with the Secretary of State to discuss the possibility of a referendum that will go directly to the people.

Accountability and transparency in government will prevail.

David Trahan served four terms in the State House of Representatives.

He lives in Waldoboro and is a candidate for Senate District 20. He can be reached at dptrahan@mid coast.com .