“I don’t know what you sent to the Police Jury, but you lit’ a fire under their *sses! They are scrambling like cockroaches when you turn the lights on.” That shocking reaction to our public records requests to parish governing authorities did not come from the Parish President, his Secretary, or his staff, but from a regular citizen. That one reaction perfectly encapsulates the importance of sunshine week and the work of Citizens for a New Louisiana.

The response to our Sunshine Week requests from Sheriff Offices in particular was tepid. One Sheriff in response to our requests for records claimed it was deficient because they don’t accept “electronic” requests. Another Sheriff, through his lawyer, refused to process our request which he admitted was directed to and received by the Sheriff. His reason? We did not “initiate a public records request” in accordance with the Sheriff’s policies and procedures. Other Sheriffs demanded that payment be made whether we purchased the records or just conducted an in-person inspection. I guess when you are the Sheriff you can flat out ignore or refuse to answer requests. After all, if a Sheriff gets sued, it will be the taxpayers on the hook for his defense.

Public education has again become a topic of interest for many parents in the state. The indoctrination of children with revisionist history and Marxist ideations, such as Critical Race Theory is alarming to parents. Despite the Legislature, State Superintendent of Education and State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education being ultimately responsible for the operation of the public education system it is most likely that your greatest influence will occur at the local level.

While most District Attorneys were cooperative with our endeavor to seek out and evaluate public documents there is one worthy of mention. Upon receipt of our requests one District Attorney indicated: “Our office requires you personally appear to request records.” When questioned about the statutory authority and asked to provide the appropriate response he replied: “I’m not your law clerk. Look it up.”

With all the recent talk regarding “election integrity,” a need to investigate and prosecute election fraud, as well as pushes for election reform, the Registrar of Voters offices seemed like a good place to probe. However, almost universally our requests to each of the sixty-four parish Registrar of Voters offices were rebuffed by a standard form letter response.

Good Morning Sunshine! It’s your week. Citizens for a New Louisiana is celebrating national Sunshine Week and continuing on our mission of government transparency and accountability by reporting on the outcome of thousands of public records requests issued last month.