LePage staff broke texting policy while working to keep public meeting private
Source: Bangor Daily News
Officials in the governor’s office violated Gov. Paul LePage’s policy that prohibits state employees from using texts and other electronic messaging to conduct government business as they discussed denying public access to a special education commission meeting at the Blaine House.
LePage officials say they adhered to the policy because they saved the messages and even turned them over to the attorney general’s office upon request. The administration has now updated its policy to lift the ban on texts, as long as they can be archived as public records.
The administration’s efforts to keep the education meeting closed are captured in an exchange of texts between officials in the governor’s office as well as legislators. The texts show how LePage staff ignored protests from reporters, legislators and the state’s transparency law ombudsman, all of whom questioned the legality of the closed-door meeting that took place April 25.
The governor wanted to bar public access to the meeting for reasons that are unclear.
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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2016/07/20/politics/lepage-staff-broke-texting-policy-while-working-to-keep-public-meeting-private/
Authoritarian GOP
yup
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