Coakley Names Director of Open Government

Attorney General Martha Coakley announced yesterday that she has named lawyer Robert Nasdor to be director of the new Division of Open Government. The new division within the AG's office was created as part of a major overhaul of the state's open meeting law that goes into effect on July 1. Most notably, the new law consolidates open meeting enforcement under the AG, removing district attorneys from the role they had enforcing the law against local government entities.

Nasdor, who started in his new job last week, most recently worked as legal director at the National Center on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington, D.C. From 1997 to 2005, he was executive director of the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts.

Coakley's announcement also says that she will focus on ramping up training and educational resources for public officials who are subject to the open meeting law. She plans to develop a comprehensive Web site devoted to the law and also conduct in-person, regional training sessions.