Carolina Journal‘s Don Carrington gets quoted in this N&O story about open records requests to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office.
Even though Cooper’s department is supposed to be a prime example of government transparency (he publishes pamphlets educating the public about open government), he’s been sluggish to respond to the N&O‘s records requests pertaining to the State Bureau of Investigations.
Here’s what Don had to say about it:
It’s not just The News & Observer having trouble getting records from Cooper’s office.
“My experience with public records requests has not been very good,” said Don Carrington, a writer for The Carolina Journal, which is published by the conservative John Locke Foundation. “I usually call [public affairs director] Noelle Talley, who doesn’t answer the phone, and then I eventually get an e-mail saying they can’t help me.”
My experience has been similar. The AG’s office was fairly prompt in providing records on its litigation against the Tennessee Valley Authority, but explanations for those documents were very slow in coming.
In addition, securing an interview with a member of the AG’s staff ? even a public information officer ? is next to impossible. They’ll take questions through e-mail and shun telephone interviews.
