He originally wanted them sealed for 20 years, but settled for 10. Why? — Octafish
"Well, there are future political considerations. We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time in any future endeavor."
— Howard Dean, MDVermont Public Radio:
PART OF DEAN'S RECORDS SEALED IN STATE ARCHIVESJohn Dillon
MONTPELIER, VT (2003-01-14)
(Host) Many of the records from the 11 years Howard Dean was governor of Vermont will be kept secret, at least for now. Shortly before he left the governor's job, Dean negotiated a deal that seals his sensitive papers for 10 years. Records from the two previous administrations were closed for just six years. Dean is running for president, and he says he wanted the records closed because of political considerations.
VPR's John Dillon reports:
(Dillon) (Sound of footsteps on stairs.) Assistant State Archivist Christie Carter leads the way downstairs to a basement vault at the secretary of state's office. Inside the climate controlled room are documents from early Vermont, like the original 1777 Vermont constitution. There the priceless and the unusual: election records from the 1780s, and town lists of the insane from the 1830s. The archives also hold more recent history.
(Carter) "There are 195 cubic feet of open records and 150 cubic feet of records that will be closed for ten years. And I can show you where they are...." (Sound of vault opening.)
(Dillon) Stacked in brown cardboard boxes alongside the files of Governors Richard Snelling and Madeleine Kunin are the latest gubernatorial papers. These were turned over last week by outgoing Governor Howard Dean. The files that Dean decided should not be released immediately will be kept secret until January 2013. The 10-year time lock is longer than the six years agreed to by Kunin and Snelling.
CONTINUED...
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