Perdue: Keep those records -- open

Gov. Bev Perdue promised a more transparent administration than previous governors, and see seems to be seizing on opportunities to show she meant it. Her predecessor, Gov. Mike Easley, made it difficult to get some records such as his travel records, which were withheld for security reasons by his administrtion. But Perdue ordered travel records made available to the News & Observer. The patrol furnished a lot of those records, with a curious exception: The year 2005. For some reasons those records appear to be missing, or at least were not turned over to the newpaper.

Perdue has said she's confident the Highway Patrol will find out what happened to the missing records, but just so no one misses the larger point, she has ordered the keeping of all records of the governor's and lieutenant governor's travels -- for four years after their terms, and then those records will go to the state archives.
"I’ve pledged to run an open and transparent administration,” said Perdue. “This new protocol will provide clear direction for how the State Highway Patrol executive security detail collects and retains travel records.”