Teresa Jacobs deleted texts from her personal cellphone that dealt with the sick-time debate on the day it was voted down, but the Orange County mayor who has championed open government said Wednesday that she would figure out a way to recover them.

“I’m going to do everything I can to get them,” said Jacobs, who conceded at least some are public records.

Her position was a turnaround from the stance she outlined in a memo the day before, in which she said she didn’t regard the texts as public documents and that only a court order could retrieve them.

The mayor was included in an Orlando Sentinel request two weeks ago that sought records from commissioners and top staffers from Sept. 11, the day the board voted 4-3 to delay the sick-time measure.

That decision, which ultimately kept the petition-driven initiative off the ballot, came amid a frenzied fight between county leaders and worker advocates who pushed it. If approved by voters, the measure would require many employers to provide paid time off for sick employees.

Click here for the Orlando Sentinel article.

Jacobs: I will recover deleted sick-time text records
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