Jackson Free Press

Under the Johnson administration, public records were usually available to the public. The Johnson administration was far from perfect in this regard, but there was a general commitment to providing the public information. For instance, when Police Chief Robert Moore was appointed to office, the Johnson administration passed out a veritable phone book of information about his credentials and education. The salaries of public officials were freely disclosed. Moore held weekly press briefings to discuss crime developments and, in the beginning, produced quarterly, and then monthly, crime summaries.

When the Johnson administration first instituted ComStat, under new Chief Moore, they were not eager to release weekly crime statistics—and drew criticism from media, including the Jackson Free Press and The Clarion-Ledger.

The administration soon began releasing the weekly crime stats and allowing the media to attend ComStat meetings (the JFP was the first).

On at least one occasion, The Clarion-Ledger brought suit against the city and others under the Open Meetings Act and Public Records Act, successfully arguing that the City Council denied the public and the press access to a meeting held during regular business hours and refused to release the minutes of the meeting to the public.

Under the Johnson administration, media frustrations tended to focus more on bureaucratic issues, which is common with local governments. That is, the workers did not always understand why we wanted a certain piece of information—and were often befuddled if you said, "Because it's our right to have it."

However, that attitude did not seem to emanate from the mayor's office, and could usually be overcome pretty quickly with a few phone calls. In the current administration, it seems clear that the mayor has little interest in meeting the requirements of the state's sunshine laws and, indeed, seems to think that he and his staff do not have to follow the law.