The Pennsylvania Democratic Party today has appealed to the Office of Open Records the Pennsylvania Senate’s denial of a Right-To-Know request filed by the Party on December 12, 2016.
On December 8, 2016, the Allentown Morning Call reported:
“Sen. Scott Wagner, a vocal critic of Gov. Tom Wolf who is eyeing his own run for governor, planned to meet Wednesday with employees at an Allentown office scheduled for closure. Wagner, however, backed out Tuesday night after getting an earful from Sen. Pat Browne, who represents most of Lehigh County. In an email to a Department of Labor and Industry employee, Wagner canceled the visit after informing Browne he would be stopping in his district. Wagner’s heads up was intended to be a courtesy, but Browne called him and explicitly instructed him to steer clear of the Allentown office.” [Morning Call, 12/8/2016]
On December 12, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party filed a Right-To-Know request seeking all emails to and from Senator Wagner and staff to determine whether Senator Wagner is using the closure of call centers, which he admittedly caused [Pennlive, 11/18/2016], for political purposes and to determine if Senator Wagner, an announced candidate for governor, is campaigning on taxpayer time.
On December 16, the Office of Open Records for the Pennsylvania Senate denied this Right-To-Know request, stating, “‘emails’, do not fall within the statutory definition of “legislative record.” Today, the Party appealed this denial.
“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has appealed the decision to keep these records from public disclosure. The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve to know if Senator Wagner is campaigning on taxpayer time,” said Corey Pellington, Deputy Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “This denial of access to public information calls Senator Wagner’s actions into question by perpetuating a culture of secrecy in which Senator Wagner operates in the shadows.”