Friday, August 28, 2026
By Outer Banks Voice on January 25, 2018
A Kitty Hawk resident has filed a public records lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against state Rep. Beverly Boswell of Kill Devil Hills.
According to a press release Thursday, Craig Merrill claimed he has requested since last April the release of public records of phone and email correspondence between her office and constituents in House District 6, which includes Dare, Hyde, Washington and part of Beaufort counties.
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is representing Merrill, a professional oceanographer and registered Democrat, in the case.
“As an elected official, Rep. Boswell has a responsibility to her constituents, to the people of North Carolina, and to the law, to be transparent and release public records upon request,” said Chris Brook, Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation.
“Transparency is crucial to our democracy. North Carolinians have a right to know what actions their elected officials are taking and why. Members of the General Assembly cannot ignore the law and their constituents,” Brook said.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Boswell, a Republican who is serving her first term in Raleigh, to preserve and release the records.
“I have a responsibility to protect the privacy of my constituents in their sensitive and intimate matters they choose to contact me about,” Boswell told the Outer Banks Voice Thursday afternoon.
“Personal and private information is often shared with me so I can provide assistance to them during a time of need,” Boswell said.
She declined to comment further, citing that it was an ongoing legal proceeding.
The lawsuit does not specify the subject matter Merrill is looking for in the correspondence, other than “understanding how … representatives make decisions and arrive at the positions they take in the (N.C. General Assembly).
“All I’ve ever asked for is public information about the work of my elected official,” said Merrill, who has published a number of articles on a progressive-leaning local blog, The Outer Banks Beacon.
“This is about more than just me – it’s about the rights of all North Carolinians to be informed and have transparency from their government,” Merrill said.
This is a developing story, check back later for more details.
» Click here to view the full lawsuit
Comments
DaveC
Seems Merrill has issues?
Cliff Claven
It’s hard to understand why Ms. Boswell is not complying with this request. One would think this is an opportunity for her to tell constituents what she is involved with to help the community.
dave
Obviously she has something to hide like our so called president. DaveC, must be the “deep state” or Illuminati or “fake news” looking for some simple facts.
Chaser
What you got to hide Bev?
stephen
Go to it , Craig. Who knows what will be revealed about her communications from the plastic bag industry, whose bidding she followed in 2017 by leading the fight to repeal the previous laws on this matter. In spite of strong opposition to this terrible repeal bill by virtually every town council of the Outer Banks and local chambers of commerce, she sponsored this repeal contrary to the wishes of her constituents.
Kenneth Fucci
Plastic bag politics? Who knows for sure, i sure don’t. I haven’t even heard about her since she got elected, except for voting against things her voters want. Ah well, another fine mess in paradise.
Carter McKay
One hundred (100) counties in North Carolina and the plastic bag ban applied to only Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties. This was an absurd piece of legislation from its inception and never took into consideration hundreds of other spots worthy of environmental protection across this state. I guess Grandfather Mountain State Park, Chimney Rock State Park, Merchants Millpond State Park, Pisgah National Forest, the Great Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Kerr Lake State Park to name only a few just aren’t as important as the above-mentioned counties.
Really?
Bag babies still crying? Yeah someone has issues for sure!
April Westbrook
Rep. Boswell, what’s changed??
“My view of transparency is that the voters have all the information possible,” Boswell said in a statement, June 4, 2017 via OBX Sentinel.
Leslie K.
Ms. Boswell – seems a simple request. Have the court redact your constituent’s sensitive requests.
To Carter McKay: On plastic, you have to start somewhere, and the citizens in those three counties on the ocean welcomed the ban. Undeniable.
Also undeniable, the cleanest country in Africa banned plastic bags in 2008. It’s pristine [translation, not a s*%&hole country]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/15/rwanda-banned-plastic-bags-so-can-we
Ms. Boswell, lead with integrity, full disclosure? Or hide with evasion and distraction (tax returns)?
WombatNC
Transparency is the issue here – not plastic bags. If this were Marc Basnight or any other democrat, GOP’ers would be up in arms shouting, “where’s the transparency?!” So, “McKay” & “really?”, play your partisan hypocrite role, but we know the truth!
Bud
Mr. Merrill’s issue is having a corrupt official in office.
goldwater conservative
Can someone please explain to how Ms. Boswell’s and my private conversations are in anyway public?
dave
To goldwater conservative: What part about “public official” don’t you understand? Just to be clear and to help educate you; she is an ELECTED PUBLIC official. She is paid by our (and that includes YOU) tax dollars. If she uses her government assigned PUBLIC email and/or phone, that makes her conversations PUBLIC. If she does conversing on any governing matters; that makes it PUBLIC. Try and think “Hillary E-mails”. Get it now? Make sense? Btw, what is she hiding? She has the transparency of thick mud. Really appears to me to be a Russian “bot”.
Carter McKay
WombatNC as they say, “facts are pesky things!”
dave
Carter, try and stay on topic. The issue is about Boswell not being transparent; not plastic bags. Nice try on the conselfservative spin and divert.
Carter McKay
Dave you’re an unworthy opponent. It has everything to do with plastic bags. Please get back to your crab pots and leave the serious thinking to those of us with an education beyond high school.
dave
Lol @ carter. I’ve forgotten more than you will ever know. Again, try and stay on topic. Nice try at divert and spin. I’d give you one of my many arrows in my quiver, but you’d probably shoot yourself with it.