COLUMBIA--Gov. Mark Sanford's decision to hold his Cabinet meetings behind closed doors sends a negative message to state and local officials about how to conduct the public's business in the open, the South Carolina Press Association says.

Members of the association unanimously voted on a resolution Saturday, asking Sanford to follow the state Freedom of Information Act and allow the public to attend the meetings.

"We feel, clearly, the Cabinet is a public body and it needs to be open," said The (Orangeburg) Times and Democrat Publisher Cathy Hughes.

Hughes was elected president of the association Saturday.

"This resolution is making our feelings known," she said.

The resolution was in response to Sanford's first Cabinet meeting that excluded the public Feb. 12.

Sanford had said following the private meeting that he wanted his Cabinet members to speak freely about many issues without concern about the media listening.

"I think he made his position clear, and I think that's why the press association is wanting to establish a dialogue with the governor," Sanford's spokesman Chris Drummond said Saturday. "The governor likes good healthy debate."

Drummond said the governor wanted to receive the resolution from the group before talking about it.

The press association's resolution says Sanford's "continuing failure to comply with the open meeting requirements of the Freedom of Information Act will ultimately lead to widespread disregard of the law by public officials throughout the state of South Carolina to the detriment of the people and their democracy."

The media group could pursue legal action if the public continues to be shut out of Cabinet meetings.

But first "we want to encourage Governor Sanford to be a leader on open government, not just a politician," said William Rogers, executive director of the association.