Proposal: Give State’s Public Records Advocate Independence

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The Public Records Advisory Council has agreed on a legislative proposal that would bolster the independence of Oregon’s public records advocate in response to allegations of political influence on the advocate from Gov. Kate Brown’s staff.
The Statesman Journal reports the proposal agreed to Tuesday takes the responsibility to appoint the public records advocate away from the governor, would disallow the governor from removing the advocate and gives the Public Records Advisory Council an avenue to propose legislation outside of the standard executive branch framework.
It also would explicitly state that the advocate is an independent office.
On Sept. 9, Ginger McCall, the state’s first public records advocate, submitted her resignation because of what she described as inappropriate political pressure coming from Brown’s office.