Newly minted U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty is learning a hard lesson about being a public figure this week: public meetings, with public officials, are supposed to be open. And if you are Member of Congress, asking the press to turn off the digital recorders and close the notebooks won’t win you much praise.
From the Record-Journal, which has declined to participate in Rep. Esty’s off-the-record meetings with public officials:
MERIDEN — To ensure a frank and honest discussion at council chambers in City Hall Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s staff has requested that the congresswoman’s meeting to gain insight from city leaders and stakeholders in the wake of the Newtown school killings be closed to the public.
The Record-Journal and Waterbury Republican have declined to cover the meetings under Esty’s gag rule.
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3 Responses to Esty Under Fire For Holding ‘Off Record’ Public Meetings.
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“To insure frank and honest” lol are you kidding me. Doesnt sound like all that frank and honest to me. Sounds like one sided close minded. Kind of scary if the people proposing laws dont want the public to see what they are discussing.
How do you think Obamacare got passed. Remember, we had to vote on the bill before we knew what was in it? A liberal classic.
Actually, I was invited to one of those “off the record” meetings. There were probably 20 people there, and it was stacked pretty evenly, pro and anti gun. I was shocked to find people there representing our Constitutional rights. I’d like to think we set the anti-gunners straight on a few things, but at the end of the day, she will vote with her party.
Not having the press hovering was good, in my opinion, for those of us who are not used to talking with the press around. We were able to be more frank and more candid without fear of “public backlash”, which, in these trying times, is not pleasant or fun. We were not ordered not to talk to the press when the meeting was over, we could speak to whomever we wanted, on or off the record. I was interviewed by someone from the Winsted Record or Journal or whatever their paper is. Congresswoman Esty held a press conference immediately following the meeting.
I agree that a lot of “closed door” meetings are nefarious, and I don’t trust a politician as far as I can spit, but this particular meeting, the one I was at, was on the up, and she truly wanted to hear what we all had to say. I didn’t vote for her, but I have to give her kudos on this one.