The Augusta Press is suing Tara Conway, former chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission, for failing to turn over texts and emails requested under the Georgia Open Records Act.
The lawsuit, filed on March 18, accuses Conway of violating the Open Records Act by purposefully withholding emails and texts pertaining to her involvement in the controversy surrounding the HPC’s demands on the owners of the historic First Baptist Church in downtown Augusta.
Specifically, the lawsuit claims Conway ignored requests for emails and texts sent to or received from David Barbee, former vice-chair of the HPC; George Bush, former chair of Historic Augusta Inc.; Erick Montgomery, executive director of Historic Augusta Inc. as well as HPC board members Nathan Vick; and Leon Maben between May 1, 2024 and Feb. 5, 2025, the date Conway resigned from the HPC.
The Augusta Press requested the materials from Conway while investigating claims made by the owners of the church property that they were being strong-armed by HPC to either fully restore the church or demolish the building.
According to the lawsuit, Conway was notified that documents related to the HPC are subject to the Open Records Act. Conway was also apprised that her personal emails sent “in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency” are subject to public scrutiny.
While the HPC is not a government agency, it does work in an advisory capacity with Code Enforcement, the Department of Planning and Zoning and the Augusta Commission; therefore, all documents and communications generated by the commission and individuals working on behalf of the commission are subject to the law.
The lawsuit contends that Conway ignored multiple requests for the material and refused to acknowledge a request made by counsel for The Augusta Press on Feb. 21 to turn over the material.
According to Debbie Van Tuyll, executive editor of The Augusta Press, the lawsuit asks the court to compel Conway to turn over the requested documents.
“At the Augusta Press, we take the Georgia Open Records law seriously along with our responsibilities as a watchdog on government. When a public servant refuses to comply with the law, he or she needs to be held accountable,” Van Tuyll said.
A lawsuit represents only one side of an argument. Conway has not returned phone calls requesting comment for this article.
In the past, The Augusta Press has successfully sued the city of Augusta for violating the Open Records Act and is the 2022 winner of the Georgia Press Association’s “Freedom of the Press” award.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
