Republican Party of Upshur County Chairwoman Brenda Patterson charged last week that County Clerk Peggy LaGrone has reversed a stance she took in 2006 that the Upshur County Commissioners Court should approve its own meeting minutes.

Ms. LaGrone defended herself against the charge, saying she was unaware when she successfully ran for clerk in 2006 that the state legislature had passed a statute in 2003 removing the court’s power to approve its minutes.

She said she was also unaware in 2006 that the court had voted in September, 2003 to discontinue approving its minutes.

The two women’s remarks came in the wake of the court’s vote Nov. 16 to rescind its September 2003 vote. Commissioners did so after Pct. 1 Comm. James Crittenden said it was a “disgrace” for the court to be unable to approve its own minutes.

Ms. LaGrone—who has long feuded with fellow Republicans Crittenden and Mrs. Patterson­—complained at the Nov. 16 meeting of the court that Crittenden raised the issue for “political” reasons. (She faces opposition in her bid for renomination in the 2010 Republican primary.)

The clerk also complained during the meeting that Crittenden was asking to “withhold information from the public for two weeks”—the approximate length of time between the court’s semi-monthly regular meetings—because the minutes “will not be available on the Internet” for that long.

Mrs. Patterson, who attended the Nov. 16 court meeting, emailed a statement to The Mirror that night saying in part, “The issue concerning the approval of the commissioner Court minutes has been a plank of the Republican Party platform since 2006. Ms. Peggy LaGrone was a member of the platform committee in 2006 and Ms. LaGrone supported the resolution concerning the approval of commissioner court minutes during her campaign for office in 2006. The party does not understand why Ms. LaGrone would flip-flop on an issue that is so fundamental to government transparency and accountability.”

Mrs. Patterson quoted the 2006 platform as saying “Whereas, the Upshur County Commissioner’s Court as a governing body has an inherent duty to be transparent and accountable to the people, and

“Whereas, properly kept and recorded minutes are necessary elements of providing transparency and accountability to the people:

“Be it resolved....that we strongly urge the Commissioner’s Court to read aloud and approve the minutes from the previous Commissioner Court minutes as a regular part of each and every Commissioner Court meeting.”

The county GOP reaffirmed the resolution, with some changes in wording, in 2008, Mrs. Patterson said.

Ms. LaGrone confirmed to The Mirror Tuesday that in 2006, “I did want the approval of the commissioners court minutes.” But, she added, “I was not aware of the statute passed in 2003 saying...(that) the clerk shall attest to the minutes.”

Concerning the issues of transparency and accountability, Ms. LaGrone said her online minutes include “everything,” including “every document that goes through commissioners court.”

She said that according to statute, she can keep the minutes on paper or electronically, and “I choose to keep it in both.” She said she plans to put audio recordings of the commissioners’ meetings on the Internet, and “they can be heard at the courthouse right now.”

Ms. LaGrone said that under Sections 81.003 b and c of the state’s Local Government Code, the county clerk shall attest to the accuracy of meeting minutes.

She faxed The Mirror a copy of the 2003 revision of the law, which removed the provision that “the county judge or the presiding member of the court shall read and sign” meeting minutes. “The legislature took it away from them,” Ms. LaGrone said.

She also faxed a copy of the court’s Sept. 15, 2003 meeting minutes, which show the court voted to discontinue approving its minutes “per new state legislation.”

County Judge Dean Fowler said during the Nov. 16 meeting that although it made “no sense to me,” the court doesn’t approve its own minutes under state statute. He implied that other area counties were wrong for doing so.

Meantime, Ms. LaGrone told reporters shortly after the meeting, “I take great offense...(to) a commissioner using the commissioners court for a political platform,” adding “That is not what they’re up there for.”

“This is all political,” she said of Crittenden’s and Mrs. Patterson’s criticism.