#DictatorScott: ALL media queries corruptly routed to Little Rock mayor's office
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ALL SPICE MUST FLOW THROUGH THE HOUSE NEGRO...
ALL media queries routed to Little Rock mayor's office
Department heads in Little Rock City Hall this week were instructed to refer all media inquiries to the mayor's office, a break with common practice.
Mayor Frank Scott Jr.'s spokesman said Friday that Scott's office wants to stay informed of all city communications.
"The mayor's office wants to ensure Mayor Scott knows what's being communicated about the city of which he is leader. So, we've asked that all media inquiries be directed to the mayor's office, and we can process requests," Stephanie Jackson, the mayor's communications director, wrote in an email in response to questions from an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter.
The city has 14 departments: the city attorney's office, community programs, district courts, finance, fire, fleet services, housing and neighborhood programs, human resources, information technology, parks, planning and development, police, public works, and the zoo.
Before this week, those departmental directors have been able to respond to questions from reporters about various policies, projects, hires and initiatives in their purview, providing information directly through face-to-face conversations, by phone conversations or via emails.
Department heads were told to point reporters to Jackson, who is a part-time employee and a co-owner of a communications agency, or Kendra Pruitt, the mayor's senior adviser, rather than full-time city spokesman Lamor Williams.
A state Freedom of Information Act request for a memo from the mayor's office outlining the action on Friday was not answered immediately.
Jackson said that having the mayor's office processing requests did not necessarily rule out reporters interviewing department directors. She added that the policy is standard in medium to large-sized cities
But some experts say limiting access to public officials in the city of nearly 200,000 people is part of a national trend that hinders government transparency.
"To see barriers put up between the government and the press, it's just really discouraging. Reporters need to speak directly to decision-makers to understand what's going on and convey nuance to readers," said Rob Wells, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. "Those are really the people who are critical to us as journalists so we can get an idea of the complexity of the problems."
Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's W.H. Bowen School of Law, said that he did not believe the policy violated the state's open-records law, but added that it is a way for public officials to control the message. Steinbuch also is co-author of the sixth edition of The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act reference book.
"I'm at a loss to understand why I need information filtered through a [public relations] person," Steinbuch said. "I don't know why I need information filtered when government employees could be providing answers directly to the public and directly to the media."
Scott has said he wants to set up a clear line of authority in City Hall. In January, about two weeks after taking office, he realigned the city's government so that six of the 14 departments -- fire, finance, human resources, planning and development, police and public works -- report directly to him rather than the city manager.
In a news release announcing the change and in interviews, remarks and social media updates since, Scott has used the acronym A.C.T., which stands for accountability, clarity and transparency, to describe how he will govern.
Rachel Herzog
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#DictatorScott
ALL SPICE MUST FLOW THROUGH THE HOUSE NEGRO...
ALL media queries routed to Little Rock mayor's officeDepartment heads in Little Rock City Hall this week were instructed to refer all media inquiries to the mayor's office, a break with common practice.
Mayor Frank Scott Jr.'s spokesman said Friday that Scott's office wants to stay informed of all city communications.
"The mayor's office wants to ensure Mayor Scott knows what's being communicated about the city of which he is leader. So, we've asked that all media inquiries be directed to the mayor's office, and we can process requests," Stephanie Jackson, the mayor's communications director, wrote in an email in response to questions from an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter.
The city has 14 departments: the city attorney's office, community programs, district courts, finance, fire, fleet services, housing and neighborhood programs, human resources, information technology, parks, planning and development, police, public works, and the zoo.
Before this week, those departmental directors have been able to respond to questions from reporters about various policies, projects, hires and initiatives in their purview, providing information directly through face-to-face conversations, by phone conversations or via emails.
Department heads were told to point reporters to Jackson, who is a part-time employee and a co-owner of a communications agency, or Kendra Pruitt, the mayor's senior adviser, rather than full-time city spokesman Lamor Williams.
A state Freedom of Information Act request for a memo from the mayor's office outlining the action on Friday was not answered immediately.
Jackson said that having the mayor's office processing requests did not necessarily rule out reporters interviewing department directors. She added that the policy is standard in medium to large-sized cities
But some experts say limiting access to public officials in the city of nearly 200,000 people is part of a national trend that hinders government transparency.
"To see barriers put up between the government and the press, it's just really discouraging. Reporters need to speak directly to decision-makers to understand what's going on and convey nuance to readers," said Rob Wells, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. "Those are really the people who are critical to us as journalists so we can get an idea of the complexity of the problems."
Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's W.H. Bowen School of Law, said that he did not believe the policy violated the state's open-records law, but added that it is a way for public officials to control the message. Steinbuch also is co-author of the sixth edition of The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act reference book.
"I'm at a loss to understand why I need information filtered through a [public relations] person," Steinbuch said. "I don't know why I need information filtered when government employees could be providing answers directly to the public and directly to the media."
Scott has said he wants to set up a clear line of authority in City Hall. In January, about two weeks after taking office, he realigned the city's government so that six of the 14 departments -- fire, finance, human resources, planning and development, police and public works -- report directly to him rather than the city manager.
In a news release announcing the change and in interviews, remarks and social media updates since, Scott has used the acronym A.C.T., which stands for accountability, clarity and transparency, to describe how he will govern.
Rachel Herzog
Laws governing recall in Arkansas
#RecallThemAll #TimeForChange
The laws that govern the conduct of political recalls in Arkansas are Ark. Code §14-47-112, 14-48-114, 14-61-119 and 14-92-209. Under these statutes, the following elected officials are subject to recall:
#RecallThemAll #TimeForChange
The laws that govern the conduct of political recalls in Arkansas are Ark. Code §14-47-112, 14-48-114, 14-61-119 and 14-92-209. Under these statutes, the following elected officials are subject to recall:
*Mayors
*Members of board of directors
*Commissioners of suburban improvement districts
*Members of board of directors
*Commissioners of suburban improvement districts
Features of the recall statutes in Arkansas are:
--The office-holder must have been in office at least six months
before a recall can be begun
--Specific grounds are not required.
--There is no time limit for collecting signatures
before a recall can be begun
--Specific grounds are not required.
--There is no time limit for collecting signatures
The signature requirement for mayors and directors is 35% of ballots cast for all candidates for the office at the preceding primary at which the officials were nominated or elected. For commissioners of suburban improvement districts, the requirement is 25% of the owners of real estate in the district.
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