Friday, March 25, 2005

And I thought North Carolina was a democratic state

Many public officials in North Carolina seem to have forgotten who they work for. UNC, some municipalities and other public agencies hope to ask the state legislature to limit the freedom-of-information rights of North Carolinians, according to a report in the News & Observer. They want to be able to sue those who exert their FOI rights. This has already happened in Burlington, NC, where in 2002 the city sued a reporter who asked for the minutes of a closed hearing.

Here’s a quote from the executive director of NC’s League of Municipalities, "We need to have open government, but governments need to operate." So, although the citizens of North Carolina are paying the salaries of all government employees, they don’t have the right to ask questions of their employees? Hmm

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