Secretary of StateState Archives
Secretary of StateJanuary 8, 1997 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MONTPELIER: -- Previously sealed records from the administration of Gov. Madeleine Kunin (1985-91) will be open to public access on January 13, according to Secretary of State Jim Milne.The records were closed at the end of the Kunin Administration through the governor's invocation of executive privilege, the right of governors to maintain the privacy of documents relating to the formulation of policy.
Executive privilege was identified as a common law right of governors in the 1990 Vermont Supreme Court case, Killington v. Lash. The case stemmed from Killington, Ltd.'s attempt to review records of Secretary of Natural Resources Jonathan Lash. Kunin became the first governor to use executive privilege when depositing her records with the State Archives in the Office of the Secretary of State. Working with then Secretary of State Jim Douglas, Kunin decided to close the records for a six-year period that expires on Saturday.
Milne said the opening should be of great interest to observers of Vermont government and politics.
"No one has looked at these records since January, 1991 and they may offer new insights into the policies and actions of the Kunin Administration. It is our hope that the availability of a six-year 'cooling off' period may have encouraged a more complete record of the administration than previous governors had been comfortable leaving with the Archives.
"This also will be our first look at how an administration determines what is an open record and what is appropriate to close under executive privilege," Milne said.
The State Archives is in the Secretary of State's Office at 26 Terrace St. in Montpelier and is open from 7:45 to 4:30, Mondays through Friday. Further information is available from the Archives at (802) 828-2308.
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