(Host) Governor Howard Dean says he’s appealing a lower court decision that calls on the governor to make his entire daily schedule available to the public. Several newspapers claim that the details of the governor’s schedule should be released under Vermont’s Right to Know law.
Last month a superior court judge agreed with the newspapers and the governor’s office appealed the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court. Dean says he is pursuing this case because he feels there are times when a governor’s schedule needs to be kept private:
(Dean) “For example: when Husky came here speaking of jobs coming – they have 300 and some odd of the best paying jobs in the state – that was all negotiated behind closed doors in private meetings. Had those meetings been public, had it been known that Robert Shad and I were meeting, Husky wouldn’t be here today. People need the ability to come to the governor and have private discussions with the governor. I don’t think that is in the public interest to know. In fact I think it’s in the public interest and the newspapers not to know.”
(Host) The Vermont Supreme Court is expected to schedule arguments for this case in the near future.