City of Kirkland: It ain't none of your business!
Posted by Scott "The Piper" St. Clair - July 23, 2009UPDATE - Assistant Attorney General Tim Ford just called me to say that he'll be writing to the City of Kirkland to advise them that their Public Disclosure Request form is invalid under Washington state law. Hey, it may not be at a Magna Carta level, but we takes our victories as we find 'em!
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Because I'm curious - OK...I'm nosy - about things governmental, I file Public Disclosure Requests to see what I can see. Sometimes, however, you see what you see even before filing one - and the sight isn't always pleasant.
The City of Kirkland has a PDR form, which on its face is OK so long as they don't try to force you to use it. But the wording of this particular form is creepy on a couple of fronts. First, the form asks why you want the records and what you intend to do with the information in them. Then, the form ostensibly claims that answers to the questions is optional, but if you fail to answer them then "wide dissemination will be presumed in determining whether exemptions apply to the request."
In other words, if you don't answer they'll take it as license to screw with your head.
Well, slap my face and call me cheeky, but Kirkland's form don't look Kosher to me. Curious what the Washington State Attorney General's office will say when they read it - and they will since I sent it to the Open Government Ombudsman, Assistant AG Tim Ford.
I'll keep you posted...
The Piper
Thoughts? Add Comment -
Sean from Kirkland said on Jul 25 2009 at 5:50pm
I look forward to more news about this issue, as it appears my home will eventually be annexed into Kirkland.