Court Orders Butler to Release Records & Explain Why He Has Not

[Bridget Conant]

Today, the Court of Appeals issued an order to the City of Lakewood to release the public records requested by Brian Essi.

By May 1, 2017, Lakewood shall comply with Essi¿s requests by preparing and releasing an ¿Index of Records Supplied, Supplied with Redactions, or Withheld¿ along with the appropriate records to Essi and filing a copy of the Index with the court. The Index shall specify by record request each and all records released, released with redactions, or withheld.

Further, any records that Butler refuses to release by claiming that they are "privileged," or records that he has redacted for the same reason, must be indexed and presented to the court along with the justification for claiming they are privileged. Further, actual copies of these "privileged" records must be filed with the court, under seal, which I presume would be to allow the court to judge whether they were withheld legitimately.

The Index shall specify by record request each and all records released, released with redactions, or withheld..... Lakewood shall also submit under seal five copies of each of the disputed records as well as four copies of records which indicate partial redactions.

Lastly, Lakewood must prove that they actually attempted to locate the records that Essi requested.

Lakewood shall also certify the steps it undertook to locate the requested records and that they have either released or submitted under seal all records it could find coming within Essi¿s request

Yet another WIN for truth and justice in Lakewood!

The court preserved the First Amendment rights of Lakewood citizens, now it is championing our right to access public records.

WIN! WIN!

[Stan Austin]

Brian Essi-- Thank You for your perseverance. Stan Austin

[Lori Allen _]

City Hall: unplug and step away from your shredders.

Bags of shredded paper have been spotted outside City Hall recently.

I can't wait to see City Hall try to explain why records may have gone missing. Tampering with public records is a felony.

If anything is missing, this could open new doors and a big can of worms. Hopefully, this could end with a loud slam at a place called the "Gray Bar Motel".

[m buckley]

Mr. Essi- Thank you. Mark Buckley.

[Michael Deneen]

I hope we learn some truth...citizens need to know what their government is doing.

[Bridget Conant]

All I can add is thank goodness for those judges that understand and protect the rights of citizens.

Although our own law department should know better, it seems they have "thumbed their nose" at the citizens of Lakewood, and not only refused to comply with the law, but actively attempted to SUBVERT the law.

It is time to take back our city. There are at-large council seats up soon. Please become informed and consider new faces - people who work for YOU, who recognize their fiduciary duty to the citizens who elected them.

It's time to dump entrenched "politicians."

[Bridget Conant]

Time for the HAPPY DANCE!

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Between the Observer First Amendment WIN and this latest slap down on Butler, I must say I'm pretty happy!

[Lori Allen _]

I hope I'm not thread-drifting here, but since this deals with Brian Essi's mandamus action, I wanted to pose this question:

In City Hall's response to the court, specifically on page 13 PR #93, it appears Mr. Essi requested correspondence between an Eileen Korey and the mayor from Nov. 23rd, 2015 regarding "retention of services".

Is this the same Eileen Korey-Kaplan that lived on Wilbert until very recently? Is this the same Eileen Korey-Kaplan that operates a communications consulting firm that communicated with the mayor?

If so, it would appear that she has sold her house and left town in a hurry, along with a few others. Any idea why?

[cameron karslake]

Bridget Conant wrote:

"It's time to dump entrenched "politicians."

AND their lap dogs like Butler!!

Shame on him.

[m buckley]

Bridget Conant wrote:

"It's time to dump entrenched "politicians."

AND their lap dogs like Butler!!

Shame on him.

Great optics to all this...
Lakewood's Law Director Kevin Butler being forced by the Court of Appeals to release PUBLIC RECORDS.
Mr. Butler you continue to inspire. A real model of truth and transparency.
What should be redacted is your name from "Lakewood Law Director".

[T Peppard]

Brian Essi-- Thank You for your perseverance. Stan Austin

Indeed! For all your perseverance, for all your integrity & your expertise... Thank you Brian. Our city is lucky to have you.

[Marguerite Harkness]

Add my name to the crowd:

THANK YOU, BRIAN ESSI, for your dogged perseverance. Even to figure out WHAT records to ask for - has to be an enormous, 36-hour-a-day task for you!

Many of us in the City are grateful for you!

May the Ides of March fall on City Hall!!

[dl meckes]

Thank you Citizen Essi. What an auspicious beginning to Sunshine Week.

[Bill Call]

Brian Essi is doing a great job at ferreting out the truth. Will the truth matter? The Mayor lied repeatedly about every aspect of the deal and the voters didn't care, the courts didn't care, local media didn't care and our local institutions didn't care.

I've given a lot of thought to the Hospital deal and I still can't understand the motivation behind the actions of the Board, the Mayor or the Council.

Lakewood Hospital provided 1,500 direct and indirect jobs, served 38,000 ER patients each year, had $140 million in revenue, had nearly $90 million in cash and investments had an offer on the table from Metro to preserve and expand the Hospital. The Mayor and Council decided to throw it all away in exchange for $8 million in cash.

Was it stupidity? Unlikely. Smart people do stupid things but this deal is beyond stupid. Although, supporters of the deal are still telling people that the City did not own the Hospital. If you believe your own lies, what then?

Was it corruption? Possibly. There was a lot of money at stake and I suspect that the key players knew the courts and local institutions would turn a blind eye.

Was it fear? Maybe. The Mayor just couldn't imagine winning a fight against the Clinic. If you surrender before the first shot is fired victory is impossible.

Was it the desire to "think big"? Interesting. Did they really believe that the few acres of land made available would be converted into game changing and dynamic economic engine big enough to offset the loss of the Hospital?

Was it the great bugaboo... Regionalization? Did our elected leaders make the conscious decision to sabotage the Hospital because the region would benefit? One City official stated that the loss of all of those jobs was no big deal because the region wouldn't lost anything. I thought that a strange statement. I can't imagine any other City official in any other City giving up what Lakewood gave up for "the good of the region". Can you?

So what was the motivation? All of the above?

Does it matter?

[Bridget Conant]

One City official stated that the loss of all of those jobs was no big deal because the region wouldn't lost anything. I thought that a strange statement.

I believe Jennifer Pae made that statement, which was interesting for the fact that the ENTIRE COUNTY lost the hospital, jobs, and income. A Cuyahoga County based hospital moved to Lorain County.

Exactly how does that benefit Cuyahoga County?