Perry's governing style: Secrecy over straight talk

By: Kenneth P. Vogel and Ben Smith
Politico.com
September 15, 2011 02:31 PM EDT

Gov. Rick Perry’s straight talk may have made him an instant star of the Republican presidential field, but even some of his supporters say his frank one-liners don’t reflect his governing style in Texas, where Perry has been criticized as one of the most secretive governors in the country.

At home, Perry has fought for years to keep even mundane details of his schedule, spending and decision-making away from reporters and the public.

He faces pending lawsuits over his office’s refusal to release travel records and a clemency review for a since-executed inmate. He’s under pressure from open government advocates to release his full schedule. And in response to a once-lonely quest by a Wisconsin blogger, Perry’s office has temporarily stopped its practice of deleting emails after a week.

And late last week, his team quietly finalized the settlement of an ethics complaint that accused his campaign of hiding how hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions were spent at his taxpayer-funded mansion on flowers, food, drinks and party supplies.

(More here.)