Government watchdog Adam Andrzejewski died Sunday morning, but his work to hold elected officials accountable will live on through his organization, Open the Books.
“He was a happy warrior,” the board of directors of Open the Books wrote in a statement . “Under his leadership, OpenTheBooks has become a highly respected well-known brand. His death is a loss not only to his family and his organization but the nation.”
“Across a wide circle of people from all walks of life, Adam was loved for his enthusiasm, encouragement, optimism and decency,” his obituary states.
As an intern in 2013, I had the privilege of knowing Adam in the early years of the organization and can attest to both statements. He was a fighter for the simple but important idea that people should know how their money is being spent by their elected officials.
While his organization may be known nationally for its work on federal spending, Adam believed every taxpayer should know what the local government is doing, too. As an Open the Books intern, I filed a handful of public records requests for information on local fire departments, for example.
Adam was no doubt a conservative: “a man of quiet faith,” according to his obituary, a Catholic, and a former Republican candidate for governor in the 2010 Illinois primary.
But he did not give his fellow conservatives a pass. His organization covered wasteful spending throughout not just the Obama years but also Donald Trump ’s presidency.
His mission should be a bipartisan one, and it may be one reason his group seems to have largely escaped the unfair attacks levied against other conservative organizations.
He explained his philosophy in an article for the Washington Examiner about hidden bonuses to government workers. “Because it’s their money, taxpayers deserve to know so they can decide how to hold their elected officials accountable,” he wrote with former Rep. Mark Sanford. “In our view, accessing this information isn’t a bonus or a privilege. It’s a right.”
He also covered government malfeasance with a sense of humor, creating a famous “ human waste ” map for San Francisco, which he displayed on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show .
This fame did not get to him, and he still made time even for me, his former intern. Adam and I would occasionally talk about job opportunities before I had my current position. One time, I reached out about a possible opening, and he called within minutes.
It’s safe to say I am where I am today thanks in some part to Adam, who helped me get acquainted with Turning Point USA and taught the importance of government transparency.
On my first day as an intern, he took time out of his day to talk to me, explain the mission, and share his vision for what he wanted to accomplish. That meant a lot. He was thankful for his employees but also spoke openly about his goals with the interns, making sure they felt part of the mission as well.
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And one day in that office, while filing records requests for some fire department in rural Illinois, I listened to a speech by Andrew Breitbart at the Conservative Political Action Conference as Adam walked past. Breitbart was “my friend,” he said of another conservative father who also died too young.
It was difficult not to think of Adam any time I would file a Freedom of Information Act request or get a denial back from some government bureaucrat. It will be even harder now.
Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.
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