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08/01/2005: "Freedom Of Information Issue Raised"

(Gary Franco addresses BOCC)

When Gary Franco made the trip from Lopez to the County Court House last Tuesday to address the County commissioners during Citizen Access time, he had an idea that his presentation that morning might not be met with a great deal of enthusiasm from the Board. On at least one count, he was correct. About two thirds of the way through his comments, he was interrupted by Commissioner Miller, who informed him he was getting personal in his comments, and she would protect anyone, no matter which side they might be on, against personal attacks, Mr. Franco stated he was not slandering anyone, and he was not making a personal attack, he was simply reading to the Commission portions of Court documents concerning a law suit brought by James Stephens against him and the Lopez Island School District. Miller persisted, informing him "We have rules for Public Access Time" and at that point Chair Kevin Ranker started to also object to Franco, but then quickly stopped. The fact is, that while the BOCC has some guidelines that they ask citizens to follow, there are no rules, and the guidelines only relate to such matters as appeals and pending land use permit applications, or any matters of litigation before the County.

In a phone interview with Mr. Franco, he told The Guardian that since the Board would be considering Mr. Stephens for appointment to the District 3 position as County Commissioner (see previous Past Story ) the Commissioners should be aware that Mr. Stephens had tried to stop the School District from releasing information requested under the Freedom of Information Act, and had Stephens not attempted to block the release, the District would have released it.

When asked about Mr. Franco's comments, Mr. Stephens responded that "The court case focused on the right of all parent donors to privacy regarding their donations, versus the Freedom of Information law. In this case Mr. Franco was allowed access to the school records of donations to the ARC Program. I was a private citizen seeking privacy protection. I support the Freedom of Information Law and if chosen as a County Commissioner I will work towards more transparency in government, not less.".

A review of the case at the Court House showed that Judge Hancock granted an Order of Dismissal in favor of Mr. Franco and the District, which did allow the information to be released to the public.

The right of the public to access records and information is a fundamental right in Washington State, and Attorney General McKenna is planning a number of forums to be held in September to gain input for the drafting of additional rules on public disclosure. "When voters approved the state's Public Disclosure Act nearly 30 years ago, they wanted to make sure Washington's government was accessible and transparent," McKenna said.