Blogger questions city over open records process

Local blogger Jaime Abeytia said the City is withholding public documents from him or made a mistake when processing his open records request.

“This isn’t about me. This is about the public’s right to know. And this is indicative of the fact that the city has really engraved systemic problems with transparency,” Abeytia said on Tuesday in an interview.

Abeytia in February had submitted an open records request asking for all emails and text messages between City Representatives Emma Acosta and Michiel Noe and their respective legislative aids regarding any and all city business, including matters related to the Metropolitan Planning Organization for a year’s span. On Tuesday, Abeytia revealed he had only received 15 text messages from the city related to his open records request.

“The idea that four different individuals only communicated a total of 15 times over the time of a year having to do with city business not just the MPO is completely ridiculous,” Abeytia said.

Noe said there were such few text messages because the representatives only turned in communication related to the MPO. “If you’re going to specify only the MPO only between these couple of people it’s going to be almost nothing,” said Noe on Tuesday in an interview. He provided ABC-7 an email from Jackie Leyva, a legal secretary within the City Attorney’s office that said Abeytia’s request had been clarified to include only MPO related text messages.

However, Abeytia provided ABC-7 his emails to Leyva in which he does not narrow his request to only MPO related conversations but maintains he is looking for communication of all city business.

“Perhaps that’s an issue that needs to be addressed at the city attorney’s office. That’s something they have to deal with. But my request was very clear and they even quote it in their response to me,” said Abeytia.

Acosta said there were few responsive documents because she doesn’t really text. “I don’t normally text. I’m not a big texter and I’m not going to text about MPO stuff. I mean that’s too complicated to write it in a text.” Acosta said she and her legislative aide don’t often text about city business in general. “No we talk. I talk to her. If I need to tell her something I need to tell her. Not via text.”

ABC-7 contacted the City on Wednesday seeking an explanation about the open records request. A spokeswoman wrote she’d ask City Attorney Sylvia Firth but a email and phone call were not returned.

Noe and Acosta said they were more than willing to check for all communication related to city business if the request was broadened again. “If there was further clarification after that that said all city business, I’ll go back and bring out all city business,” said Noe.

In an email to Firth on Wednesday, Abeytia wrote: “There is no reason for this other than a deliberate attempt to keep me from records that I am entitled to as a member of the community, or a major error on the part of your staff. Either scenario is unacceptable.”