By: abide on 6/22/09
Keep the heat turned up on the election commission and other members of public service they want privacey so they can hire their friends and make sure money and favors flow freely in to the right hands, good ole boy politics as usual.

By: HuskyLover on 6/22/09
Good for the reporters for sticking to their guns and the law. THIS is exactly what the press is for.

If the applicants are so concerned about their privacy, they should have never applied for a job in the public sector.

By: archosignis on 6/22/09
Good job MP and DNJ!!!

By: josef on 6/23/09
Yes, we DO have crazy laws in this country...but, till the law is changed I believe the law should be applied to EVERYONE equally

By: devolver on 6/23/09
Lots of laws and ideas were "crazy" pre-Magna Carta, and thank goodness for those "crazy" laws. And, I might add, Doris Jones should be glad we have "crazy laws", else people like her and Walker would be taken aside and hanged.

Extreme? Not a few hundred years ago, or a few "crazy laws" ago...

By: acdsrool on 6/23/09
Way to go, Mr. Tay-luh! Keep 'em straight up there!

By: Farmall on 6/23/09
A little tape over the persons name and current place of employment might work. Then you would have to read the resume and not hire on the persons name.

By: bota on 6/23/09
I'm not sure if the "Sunshine" law covers revealing data on job applications. Those applications could be numbered 1-91 and reffered to by number. The discussions may be public info but until a person is hired I don't think that their personal job history is. I may be wrong but this seems to be more about promoting gossip and controversy than informing the public.

By: LauraB on 6/23/09
Why are the candidates resumes not already recorded in a ledger, names/employers redacted, numbered and distributed for review anonymously. Jeez, it's not that difficult to make a pretty little log sheet in Microsoft Word, make a copy of the orginal resume and discuss them as "Candidate #1," "Candidate #2," etc. Unless ... nah ... there wouldn't be any other movtive, would there? ;-)

By: sechappell on 6/23/09
Tom Walker and Doris Jones should resign their positions immediately. If they think they can just violate any law they disagree with, imagine what laws they might violate while running an election! They no longer possess the credibility or believability necessary to be public servants, and these two monumental idiots must step aside.

By: vdanr on 6/23/09
"clap clap clap" and two thumbs up to Murfreesboro Post and the DNJ for standing up for what is right. If we have commissioners that want to only abide by the law when it suits them, then I wonder what laws they actually follow.

By: canalou on 6/23/09
If they don't know the law, replace them. If they don't follow the law, make them resign. Or, as their type typically shout...if you don't love America and its laws, leave it!! Congrats for standing up as an American newspaper. We need more of this type journalism today.

By: Momma on 6/23/09
I love it!

By: mck3491 on 6/23/09
When someone says that they don't care what the law says, they need to be booted immediately! End of story! It's just unbelievable. I know I will never trust that Walker and Jones are following the laws. Who would!

By: mck3491 on 6/23/09
...And a special thanks to the Post and DNJ people for standing up for us and what is right.

By: tennessean on 6/23/09
The best person for this job, (or any job), is probably already employed. If their interest in a public sector job requires disclosing their identity, and the notification of their current employer, then they may choose not to apply and threaten their current situation. Then we end up with someone who is not the best person for the job. I say review the resumes, but keep the names and the current and previous employers confidential to protect the applicant's privacy and to insure that good candidates are not afraid to apply.

By: Valerie0903 on 6/23/09
Why don't we just post them all in the paper and the readers can just vote on who they think the best candidate is. Problem solved.

By: bota on 6/23/09
Does anyone else think that this whole thing was pre planned, that the two newspapers didn't just "happen to be there"? Pirtle and Hart just didn't "happen" to be available? The Commissioners knew what was going to happen and it's not hard to figure out which of them gave a heads up to both papers.Tom Walker took the bait like a carp hitting a chicken liver.

By: mikepirtle on 6/23/09
Wow, Bota.
Quite the imagination, but I guess you've figured out now how the two newspapers just "happen to be there" when MTSU plays a football game, or worst, how all the media just "happen to be there" when the Super Bowl is played.
Come on, the election commission, going through contentious times due to political changes, had a scheduled meeting as part of the process of replacing its coordinator. When's the last time that happened by the way?
Exactly how did the newspapers preplan Tom Walker's astonishing decisions to close the meeting and call the cops on reporters? When's the last time that happened around here?
Luckily, the Post's offices just happen to be about five minutes or less from the Square so Pirtle being available not long after 5 on a Monday evening isn't exactly like picking the Powerball numbers.
So, I may be wrong, but I supect no one else thinks this whole thing was pre planned.

By: whizkid on 6/23/09
Pre planned, give me a break! Of course you should use a discreet method of discussing the candidates like has been suggested above. You will never receive the best candidates unless you do.

Walker made a very uninformed and poor decision. He will never again be taken as competent!

By: bota on 6/24/09
Mike; I shot an arrow into the air and it fell to earth and I think I know where. If you take the time to read what I said you will see that I did not imply that the media pre planned Walker's actions. What I did say is that (in my opinion) the media was aware that (he) was going to call for a closed meeting and were there with an action plan to react should that happen. Your reaction seems to support my opinion.

By: GrumpaEd on 6/24/09
bota, sure they were there with a plan of action. Too many times in past at state and local levels this tactic of secrecy has been used/attempted. They attended to report the ongoings of the meeting and when the meeting was to be conducted in secret session, they were ready with a plan of action.

I appreciate your activity and knowledge of the ongoings of the water/sewer board. But, the "lack of coverage" of those meetings should not mean other meetings be treated the same as you think your "pets" are.

By: ItIsMeAgain on 6/24/09
bota, you have got to be kidding me. Walker thinks that he doesn't have to obey the laws and Jones thinks that "we have some crazy laws." Crazy laws like counting every vote in the future? What if they don't want to count the votes from Patterson Park or other heavily Democratic districts because that is a "crazy law"? These two commissioners need to step aside immediately unless the county wants to be embroiled in a lawsuit at the end of every election as long as they are in office.

Good on you MP and DNJ.

By: Boo on 6/24/09
Mike Pirtle, and Jimmy Hart Thank you! Great job!! If there's a crook in my party-and there is a lot of them- I want them gone! Both parties could use a good clean out, and clean up, then maybe we could get our county and our country back on track. Keep up the good work, Post.

By: G33K-Chik on 6/25/09
Kudos to the reporters! I agree with everyone who has expressed the opinion that these records should be public because the positions are public.

By: rebelyeller on 6/25/09
I'm so glad these reporters stood their ground, and were aware of the law. The public sheepishly followed the Chairmans demand to leave, and who knows what kind of underhanded business would have taken place.

Between the two sides, only the reporters remember who they work for.

The commissioners need a reprimand, and the reporters need a raise.

By: LouRob on 6/26/09
You all make great points, but you're missing the biggest point:

"[Chairman Tom] Walker Walker was informed it is against state law to close a public meeting. He was then offered a copy of the Sunshine Law (T.C.A. 8-44-101), which he declined, claiming he does not care what the law is and is just trying to protect the applicants by closing the meeting."

An elected official who "does not care what the law is" should not be allowed to stay in a position that is governed by the law.

By: tnlonestar on 7/3/09
WOW! I'm very shocked that all you guy's are just now figuring out that this is how Murfreesboro is & Will always be. Untill we the people stand up & get these crooked people out of office it will continue.

I'm also really shocked that these brave reporters stood up for us all & Am very happy they did. I wish & Pray people like this will continue to put the heat on these crooks who Think there above the law & all the other city officials who make there own laws.

Reporters I Thank you & Keep up the good work. Just Remember to be there on the city's vote to ban law abiding permit holders out of parks & ect. too.