N.J. governor did 'about-face' on open government, activists charge

By The Associated Press

07.16.02

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TRENTON, N.J. — Despite promises to fight for public access to records, Gov. James E. McGreevey has turned his back on keeping government open, several advocacy groups charged yesterday.

One day after a newly strengthened public-records law went into effect last week, the governor announced he had signed a sweeping executive order exempting more than 400 categories of records from the law, including some records from the governor's office.

"Governor McGreevey has done an about-face in his support for open government by exempting his own office, as well as numerous state agencies, from disclosing vital information the public needs to do its job," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey during a Statehouse news conference.

Making use of the new law, the group hand-delivered a request yesterday to the governor's office and the state attorney general's office asking for records related to the executive order, including names of those who participated in preparing it. Members said they wanted to see what documents they could obtain before considering legal action.

They also held out hope that McGreevey, a Democrat, would rescind the executive order.

"Hopefully, the governor will reverse himself again," said Joe Tyrell, president of New Jersey Foundation for Open Government.

In the order, the governor cited safety and security concerns for shielding some of the records. But a majority of the items include exemptions that government departments recommended, including charter school applications, building permits and applications for farmland acquisitions. The entire list will become finalized after a public comment period ends Aug. 30.

McGreevey spokesman Paul Aronsohn said the governor supported the open-records law and let his department heads decide what should remain private. The public will have the chance to raise objections during the comment period, he said.

"We'll see where we are at end of it," Aronsohn said.

The law presumes all government records are public unless they are specifically exempted. Before the governor's executive order, the law already included exemptions for lawmakers' documents and correspondence.

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