Perdue lets some light in

bniolet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:38:51 -0400

One her first day as governor, Beverly Perdue pledged to increase government transparency.

"Government must be more accountable to the people," Perdue said in her Jan. 10 inaugural address. "The state's business must be conducted in the sunshine, to inspire confidence, not cynicism."

Perdue appears to largely be living up to that promise. She makes her weekly schedule available and frequently takes questions from reporters, and her administration released travel and other records that disclosed former Gov. Mike Easley's use of private planes and other activities.

And Wednesday, Perdue issued executive orders requiring more transparency in government. She is also expected to soon sign a bill that she backed that would force state mental hospitals to release information about those who die in the facility or within two weeks of being discharged.

But Perdue's administration continues to withhold some key records, such as reports on probationers who committed serious crimes and state employees who had sex with inmates.

"Compared to what it was, [Perdue] has been great," said Don Carrington, vice president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, who said the Easley administration routinely rebuffed his calls and requests for documents. "They return calls and acknowledge requests." (N&O)

On the other hand, employees at the state's psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro could face discipline if they say negative things about its staff or operations.

Cherry Hospital has landed in trouble in the past few years for patient abuse and neglect, with some of problems coming to light because workers spoke publicly. (N&O)

Easley's do-not-call list

bniolet — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:25:49 -0500

The John Locke Foundation was on the do-not-call-back list, according to the former public affairs director for the Department of Health and Human Services.

In an interview Tuesday, the day she was fired, Debbie Crane said the governor's office told state public information officers not to return calls from the conservative think-tank.

"There are certain people you're not supposed to talk to, like if the John Locke Foundation calls, you're not supposed to return their calls," Crane said. "Basically we just sort of tried to ignore that or go a back way but you weren't supposed to return the John Locke Foundation's calls."

Gov. Mike Easley's press office has not responded to a request for comment on Crane's comment.

Crane's comments weren't a surprise to those who work for The Carolina Journal, a newspaper owned by the foundation.

"I suspected something like that was going on, but I didn't think that everyone would actuallly act that way," said Don Carrington, the newspaper's executive editor. "We have a giant hurdle to go over just to produce stories because of the way they treat us."

Carrington said state public information officers rarely answer questions from the newspaper's reporters.

Paul Chesser, a contributing editor, said public information officers are often keen on asking why a reporter wants information.

"It's none of their business why we're after something," Chesser said. "At lot of times in my experience I've found these agencies and these PIOs part of a public obstruction office rather than a public information office."