High e-mail standard

To the editor:

Democrat state Rep. Paul LeVota attempted to deceive your readers, and his July 20 letter requires a correction. LeVota, like Attorney General Jay Nixon, continues to make assertions about the Sunshine Law and Gov. Matt Blunt's office that are not true and are politically motivated.

First, the governor's office retains and releases more e-mails than any other elected official. This includes Nixon, whose office admitted it routinely destroys e-mail records in response to an analysis of e-mail policies conducted last September by The Associated Press. One of Nixon's top aides, Scott Holste, told The Associated Press last September that Nixon's office routinely destroys e-mails.

Second, despite Nixon's assertions, Governor Blunt's office has been the most responsive office in state government when it comes to providing e-mail records for public inspection and has provided hundreds of e-mails in response to open records requests beginning long before Nixon, and LeVota, acting as a surrogate for Nixon's political campaign, tried to make this a political issue.

Last year Governor Blunt called for the creation of a system that permanently retains all e-mail so that there is no room for human error. All e-mail will be retained forever, setting a new standard that goes far beyond what is required by law.

Meanwhile, others in state government, including Nixon, continue to delete e-mail records while attacking the governor.

If LeVota is serious about ensuring an open and transparent state government, he needs to voice his support for the governor's e-mail retention plan.

TRISH VINCENT, Chief of Staff, Governor's Office, Jefferson City, Mo.