Posted on 07/27/2006 7:44:59 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Still in the dark waiting Republicans' request for records unfulfilled
By Kevin Wingert rep3@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE - After seven weeks of waiting, the chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party says he has not received a response from all of the state government's departments to his public records request.
"I just feel like I'm being strung along here," said Drake Hill, the Republican Party chairman. "The roadblocks that we are encountering are really within the governor's office, itself."
On June 9, Hill filed a request at several state agencies, including the office of the governor. It covered several areas of the administration under Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat who is running for re-election.
Included in that request is the following:
• Contracts between the state and Davis and Cannon, a law firm where the governor's wife, Nancy Freudenthal, is an attorney.
• Contracts between state government and Freudenthal, Salzburg and Bonds, where the governor's brother, Steve Freudenthal, is an attorney.
• Lobbying activities of Nancy and Steve Freudenthal.
• The governor's use of the state plane.
• Any sole source contract entered into by the office of the governor for legal or other services provided.
• Information about whether the Wyoming Highway Patrol drove Nancy Freudenthal to events, either in her capacity as first lady or as an attorney meeting with clients.
• Contracts between state government and Lander publisher and former gubernatorial candidate Bill Sniffin, who ran as a Republican.
"We're bound by the request made by Drake (Hill) in writing," said Lara Azar, the governor's press secretary. "Given the broad, broad nature of this request, it's going to be difficult to do this in as short a span of time as they're looking for."
While Hill said his office has received responses from several state agencies, he pointed to four specific, larger departments that he has not heard from: Family Services, Administration and Information, Health and the office of the governor.
"It's important for the people of Wyoming to know how (their) government is functioning," Hill said.
Roger McDaniel, the director of Family Services, said he has responded to the request with a letter, which he produced, sent on Monday to Hill.
"This was a massive request, and it took an extraordinary amount of time to review the files," McDaniel said. "We started immediately upon learning about it."
With 28 satellite offices throughout the state in addition to the central office in Cheyenne, McDaniel said, it took time to coordinate and gather all the records involved. Each of those offices had to conduct a search of its own files for information pertinent to the request.
From the satellite offices, alone, McDaniel said, 80 hours were spent processing the records.
"The public is entitled to records," he said. "Usually the requests we get are specific and relevant to a particular issue. This one was much broader."
He compared the request to the discovery process engaged in by lawyers in a lawsuit.
The governor characterized the request as a "basic witch hunt, in the hopes that there's a witch."
Hill said the governor has slowed down the process not only within his own office but throughout the state.
"I've gotten calls from state employees who have been wanting me to know that these requests have not been burdensome," said Hill. "They were able to know within a few minutes or not if they had responsive documents."
Hill declined to identify any of the employees or agencies, saying "they're all afraid for their jobs."
"It appears the governor is trying to create unnecessary work for state employees on this records request," Hill said.
The director for A&I, Karl Kabeiseman, refuted that.
"The governor has been totally the opposite," said Kabeiseman, who said his own agency is only a few days away from completing the request. "There's never been any hint from the governor of 'drag your feet.'"
Kabeiseman said that while some divisions within A&I were able to close out their part of the request quickly, in "some of our divisions it takes more time than others."
"The public can ask for anything they want," Kabeiseman said, "and it's our job to produce it."
With the office of the governor, specifically, Hill said, "There is a considerable amount of game- playing going on."
His requests from that office dealing with lobbying efforts by family members, Hill said, were narrow and should readily be answerable by the governor.
"It seems rather curious to me that the governor has gone around to all other agencies in state government asking for whether they have documents related to his brother's and wife's lobbying activities and roles as lawyers," Hill said. "He's asked everybody but his own family."
The governor responded by saying that if all Hill wanted were records about his family's lobbying efforts then "the whole state government would breathe a sigh of relief."
Freudenthal said there is a "gap between the written word" and what Hill has said in newspapers across the state.
"If there's specific things you want, then you should ask for it," he said.
He characterized Hill's request as "really broadly phrased."
Hill pointed to his request for information on sole-source contracting and said the Republican Party had narrowed the request to contracts above $7,500.
"We've suggested to them a focused approach," Hill said. "Sole-source contracts are supposed to be the exception under the state procurement rules."
Azar said researching every sole-source contract the state has entered into since 2003 was a time-consuming effort, requiring searching through the State Archives, among other things.
"Several staff members have been putting in several hours a day (on the project)," Azar said
Among the sole-source contracts found, Azar said, is a contract on grout work for historical buildings.
While she said she believes Hill and the state Republican Party are not interested in grout, "We're bound to reply."
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It only took 2 years for the Hildabeast to find the billing records for the Rose Law Firm (after thoroughly making them un-informative).
Not quite. Ray Hunkins is running, and most considered he would've won the '02 general had Eli Bebout not defeated him in the primary.
Who is Ray Hunkins? Has WY ever voted out a Democrat governor?
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