Governor’s Candidates Pledge More Transparency In Government

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The four major candidates vying to be Louisiana's  next governor are promising more openness in government.

Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards and Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter say they'll push to limit the broad public records exemptions granted to the governor's office.

The men said a 2009 public records law change that shields anything considered the governor's "deliberative process" has been stretched too far and should be changed.

Dardenne and Edwards said the exemption has been abused. Vitter said he'd issue an executive order curtailing it on his first day in office.

The comments Thursday came at a forum sponsored by the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. Vitter didn't show up in person, taping answers in advance.

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