Dems decry delay in obtaining Palin e-mails

JUNEAU - The Alaska Democratic Party says a six-month or more delay in obtaining official e-mails from Gov. Sarah Palin's office is inexcusable.

Party officials issued a press release Friday after hearing that their records request from last September may not be answered before the end of March.

In a letter to the Department of Law, Palin's administrative services director, Linda Perez, asked for the extension because of problems converting e-mails into a format that can be easily reviewed and redacted.

Democrats accuse the administration of obfuscation and say staff should be able to identify the requested e-mails with simple search commands.

Their e-mail request is one of 18 pending public records requests.