Mayor Holds Back Documents Despite Promising Transparency: Report

NASHVILLE, TN -- Metro Mayor Megan Barry's office is holding back certain documents connected to her admitted affair with her now-former bodyguard despite repeated promises to be forthcoming with information, The Tennessean reports.

"We will give any records over to anyone who would like them," Barry said during the news conference late last month when she admitted to a lengthy affair with her chief of security, Sgt. Rob Forrest.

It appears that "any records" don't include those covered by "deliberative process," according to the newspaper.

The mayor has refused to turn over the number of employees who have been involved in the response to the mayor's confession and the hours they've worked on it. In addition, her office will not turn over communications between her office and police officials regarding the scandal or her office and any private individuals assisting with the response, the newspaper reports.

Sean Braisted, the mayor's spokesperson, said there were no records regarding the time and money spent by city employees responding to the affair and its fallout, though it is common for officials on the state and local level to account for time spent compiling information for public records requests.

Both Braisted and a clerk cited "deliberative process" in refusing to turn over the communications between the mayor's office and police and any outside consultants. Tennessee's Open Records Act has 538 exceptions that can be cited to refuse disclosure, but that does not include deliberative process; a 2013 state appeals court decision did, however, say deliberative process is nevertheless protected. Deliberative process includes private staff communication used to develop public policy.

"I don't think the intention was to exempt from the public records laws all communications and related records by county mayors dealing with a crisis," Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, told the paper. "That would eviscerate the public records law and give broad authority to the executive branches of government to shut down access to documents that shed light on what the government is doing and why."

See The Tennessean's full report.

Photo via Office of the Mayor