Washington’s Public Records Act is one of its most important – and frequently ignored – democratic safeguards. Kitsap County learned that lesson the hard way when it was forced to write a $15,000 check to the Freedom Foundation for stonewalling a legitimate information request we filed last year.
A rarity in Washington, the PRA actually forces public officials to be responsive and responsible to the public they serve. When someone submits a public records request, the official has to work with the requestor to ensure that the government understands the request, and produce as many responsive records as possible. In nearly every way, the PRA gives the citizen the benefit of the doubt, and boldly promotes disclosure of records.
As the law, itself explains: “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created. This chapter shall be liberally construed and its exemptions narrowly construed to promote this public policy and to assure that the public interest will be fully protected.”
After reading that, innocent bystanders might think Washington is a bastion of liberty. But alas, government officials often prove bold legislative pronouncements nothing more than paper tigers.
In this case, the Freedom Foundation discovered a prominent Kitsap County official had been using public resources to illegally lobby during the 2012 election. This constitutes a serious ethical violation. In an effort to find out how widespread the abuse was, we sought her emails from that particular time period. But the county responded with only a small percentage of those we requested.
In fact, when we filed our complaint in court, the county released nearly four thousand more records it had previously failed to disclose and offered a settlement in which they compensated our attorneys for the extra effort it took to obtain all the information.
No charges have been filed yet against the department head accused of illegal lobbying, but considering the lengths to which the county was willing to go to cover up her activities, it’s quite possible charges could be forthcoming.
This should be a lesson to to every public official in Washington. When you disrespect our citizens and reduce their rights to empty promises, the Freedom Foundation will be there to hold you accountable. Do the right thing. We’re always watching.
