The city of Santa Fe’s Public Records Custodian Bernadette Romero does a couple of things that make her stand out to SPJ Rio Grande. One, she’ll reach out to someone requesting a public record to help refine their request so they get what they’re looking for—and it’s not buried in pages and pages of unnecessary material. And two, she doesn’t automatically ask for time extensions. Romero tries to turn records around as quickly as possible.
Reporter Jeff Proctor spoke to Romero about what it’s like to be a custodian of public records and why she thinks it’s important to maintain a good relationship with “frequent flyers” like journalists.
It’s all part of our ongoing Sunshine Week 2017 content, which includes efforts to high-five the public servants who are doing open government right.
