No one in Gov. Mike Easley's administration, including the governor himself, is above the law.
News reports that members of the governor's staff directed state employees in the state health department to delete e-mails they sent to the governor's office should trouble anyone who believes the government if the people should be done in the sunshine.
If, in fact, that happened, as three current and former employees have alleged, the Easley administration has violated state law and breached the public's trust.
To his credit, Easley has convened a special panel to review the state's e-mail rules.
But every North Carolinian should be concerned that those who prefer backroom deals and other political shenanigans will use this panel as a foothold to weaken the state's public records laws. Some have complained it's too expensive to maintain these records and make them available for public inspection.
What these foes of open government fail to realize is that they don't own these records; they are merely custodians of what belongs to the people of this state.
The time, energy and money spent on this panel's work would be better spent finding out who the culprits are and removing them from their positions. A remedial course for the governor's staff on the laws that govern the handling of public records would also be in order.
Elected officials and state employees who have nothing to hide shouldn't be worried about following the state's public records law.
Conversely, North Carolina taxpayers and voters should be very worried about anyone in public office who advocated anything other than transparent government. Until his administration proves differently, Gov. Easley has earned a spot at the top of this list.
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