FOIA request reveals Ann Arbor City Council members' private, in-meeting emails
From Sunshine Review
July 21, 2009 Ann Arbor City Council members regularly exchanging private e-mails between the city council's laptops in public meetings from late 2007 through 2008.[1]
[edit] Meeting electronically and in person
An examination of the emails shows discussions of personal political campaign activity conducted during council meetings, jockeying over the politics of City Council salary increases and discussion of public business that keeps the public in the dark.
City Council member Leigh Greden sent an e-mail to another member in September 2008, while the council was making a $300,000 decision about funding a human-service agency, saying, "We didn't want the detailed finances discussed..."
"... Plus, we're trying to get the aff hsng (sic) community to understand that we're not a bottomless pit of money. The goal was to run down the Trust Fund," Greden continued 14 minutes later to Council Member Marcia Higgins.
Both of these e-mails spoke of material that the city's FOIA officer redacted before The Ann Arbor News received the requested records. The newspaper has been trying to speak with Greden about these e-mails since July 14, but the attempts have not been returned other than a phone message acknowledging receiving the requests. In this message he said he was unusually busy with business and with his campaign for re-election to the 3rd Ward council seat he has held since 2003.
The response to the FOIA request included Nov. 5, 2007, when city officials terminated an agreement for the redevelopment of the former Y property at Fifth Avenue and William Street. City Council member Margie Teall expressed regret about all the work that went into the project in an email to Greden. Teall thought the work was wasted and Greden voiced the opinion that the project would have failed at any point.
The other dates of meetings in which City Council members exchanged e-mails were Dec. 18, 2007, and June 2, July 21, Sept. 22, and Oct. 6, 2008.
Greden was the most frequent e-mail conversation initiator and not all council members participated in the e-mail exchanges. The FOIA office responsible for City Council information provided The Ann Arbor News with more than 170 pages of e-mail messages. There were about 45 conversations that Greden did not initiate. The News did not examine messages outside of the council meetings.[1]
[edit] Community reaction
Community members have posted several council e-mails online, while other people sent letters to the editor and expressed opinions on blogs. City Council candidate Stephen Kunselman has been using copies of a Sept. 8 e-mail during his campaining in which Greden disparages him. He said he's showing the people an example of a person insulting a colleague in the same room during a meeting.
Many of the e-mails included petty and insulting exchanges between the members. Greden and Teall have apologized to constituents for sending inappropriate e-mails previously.
The 15th District Court judge, Chris Easthope declined discussion of some of his e-mail exchanges from late 2007 and 2008.
[edit] External links
- Ann Arbor website
- Information about Chris Easthope
- Leigh Greden government website
- Stephen Kunselman's campaign website
[edit] References
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