The divorce records of Gov. and Mrs. Robert Bentley should be open to the public. Such is precedent in this state and there is no reason to do differently in this case.

The governor’s personal life affects his ability to do his job and could undermine his integrity, credibility and moral authority to govern.

Many were surprised to learn last month the governor’s wife of 50 years, Dianne, filed divorce citing “an irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage.

The case was filed on a Friday and the following Monday a Tuscaloosa County judge issued an order sealing all records pertaining to the case. Judge Elizabeth Hamner, who was appointed by Gov. Bentley in 2011 and elected to a full-term in 2012, issued the order.

Mrs. Bentley’s attorney L. Stephen Wright and the governor’s attorney Lisa Woods made the request jointly saying, “[The governor] holds a prominent office in the state of Alabama, and it would be in the parties’ best interest that the public not be able to access the record.”

By granting the request, Judge Hamner makes the records only available to the Bentleys, their attorneys and court employees. All documents related to the case, including Dianne Bentley’s original filing, have been removed from the state’s online court records system.

Sealing the records is decidedly not in the best interest of the general public. Gov. Bentley is the highest elected official in the state and has a much greater obligation of transparency than ordinary citizens.

From the day he was elected and moved into the Governor’s Mansion with around-the-clock security detail, Bentley was no longer a private citizen and doesn’t enjoy the same right to privacy.

In fact, the standard for keeping the records open in this case should be higher than in a typical divorce given his position, authority over state personnel and use of resources.

We support the efforts of media outlets across the state working to have the governor’s divorce records unsealed.

As attorney Dennis Bailey, who counsels the Alabama Press Association, wrote in the motion, the desire for privacy does not justify closing divorce hearings or documents to the public.

“The sealing of this case will harm the public … because it will encourage the spread of rumors and unsubstantiated allegations and deny responsible journalists authoritative sources for information concerning the divorce proceedings in question,” Bailey wrote in the motion. “This case, based on what little verifiable information is available in the complaint, is newsworthy and a fair subject for reporting by the press.”

It is understandable the Bentleys may feel like the details of their divorce are nobody’s business but their own. When the divorce involves the governor of your state, it is the public’s business too.