The Sunshine Week alliance has begun a yearlong Sunshine Campaign project to bring the discussion of open government issues to election campaigns from president to local city council. While the initiative expands the scope of Sunshine Week to cover the entire election season, there still will be myriad events, coverage and other activities during Sunshine Week 2008, March 16-22.

The Sunshine Campaign is designed to spur campaign conversation — and commitment — to open government during the presidential race and continuing on through to city council contests. Journalists, and anyone else with the opportunity, are encouraged to ask every candidate for public office to explain his or her positions on open government and Freedom of Information issues.

Read more.

Print and Web ads in both English and Spanish are available on the Sunshine Week Web site. The ads may be used by any participant free of charge now, during Sunshine Week (March 16-22), and through the November 2008 elections.

Get the ads here.

Pulse aquí para español.

In a memo urging people to ask candidates their views of Freedom of Information issues, ASNE Freedom of Information Committee co-chairs David Westphal and Pat Yack provide a list of suggested questions.

"At a time when world events have prompted strong pleas from some to expand secrecy in government, it is fundamental to the public interest to know where the candidates stand — just as we need to know their views on war and peace, jobs and the economy," Westphal and Yack wrote.

A full-color tri-fold brochure about Sunshine Week 2008: The Sunshine Campaign can now be downloaded. The two sides should be printed back-to-back and then the page folded into thirds, with the campaign button ending up as the cover and the Sunshine Week and Sunshine Campaign pages facing each other.

Thousands of the brochures are being distributed along the 20,000-mile trek of the Project Vote Smart Purple Bus Tour, which is bringing live, interactive demonstrations of the online Voter's Self Defense System to communities across the nation. The Voter's Self Defense System provides online access to information on more than 40,000 candidates at all levels of government. Project Vote Smart also has worked with Sunshine Week to include questions about open government issues in its candidate surveys.

The brochures may be used by any participant in conjunction with Sunshine Week activities. They may not be altered or edited without express permission from Sunshine Week. Brochure artwork was created for Sunshine Week by EMacDesign.com.

Side 1

Side 2

In debates, surveys, interviews and editorial board meetings — such as the one at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville pictured here — the presidential candidates are being asked to share their thoughts on open government and Freedom of Information issues.

A larger database and analysis of their positions will be posted soon, but meanwhile, read what some of them have said.

Sunshine Week partner Project Vote Smart offers a comprehensive, searchable online database of information about every candidate for office, from president to local city administrations. In addition to its online resources, Project Vote Smart's specially equipped bus is touring the country introducing people to the Voters Self Defense System. For more information, or to access its candidate resources, visit the Project Vote Smart Web site.

The Sunshine campaign is now a Facebook Cause and has its own Facebook Page.

Join the Cause to show your support and even make a donation for Sunshine Week and the Sunshine Campaign. You also can become a "fan" of Sunshine Week and the Sunshine Campaign through the main page.

Either way, displaying your support for open government will help spread the word about this important issue to your Facebook friends and throughout the network.