The Observation Deck

Bridget Conant wrote:My head is spinning! The city puts their typical spin on news and claims on their Facebook page that they won the lawsuit. We have our own local Trumpsters here. No means yes, down is up, and losing is winning.

Summers is a Trumpster, as are most of Team Summers. DINOs obsessed with privatizing public assets.

According to the city's website, the city has, once again, won. Nor, do they mention their obligation to pay Essi's legal fees.

http://www.onelakewood.com/eighth-distr ... ords-case/

“The court has ruled,” Mayor Mike Summers said. “We are grateful for the ruling and appreciate the effort the court put into its opinion.”

“The city has always taken very seriously its obligation to give the public the records the citizens own and deserve,” said Law Director Kevin Butler. “We feel very strongly that we fulfilled that obligation in this case.”

There is no end to their falsehoods.

"Mr. Alaimo, the City of Lakewood has a right to appeal this decision. This might take a while."

To ask an unserious question:
Why would they appeal if they won?

Even The Shielded Documents Must Be Released

Because many of the documents that were previously released demonstrated obvious conflicts-of-interest within the city administration/city council and at the Lakewood Hospital Association, the current city council must seek the public release of all documents that are still being withheld by the City of Lakewood.

The public deserves no less.

All attorney-client privileged documents must be released, as well as other shield documents, because the public simply has a right to know and to judge the governmental and private party decisions that led to the loss of its largest civic institution -- Lakewood Hospital.

The public deserves complete openness, honesty, transparency, and accountability from its municipal government. It deserves this now and immediately.

As long as these key documents remain hidden from public review, citizen confidence in our local government will not be restored.

While this might not be an applicable legal argument I think that at the State and Local level there is NO reason for withholding public information. At the federal level the only justification is the nuclear codes. That not applying here--- maybe one of the magistrates involved in this matter might just take everyday common sense into consideration and apply it to this case. Judges---Can you apply good old fashioned standards here?
Stan Austin

Stan Austin wrote:While this might not be an applicable legal argument I think that at the State and Local level there is NO reason for withholding public information. At the federal level the only justification is the nuclear codes. That not applying here--- maybe one of the magistrates involved in this matter might just take everyday common sense into consideration and apply it to this case. Judges---Can you apply good old fashioned standards here?
Stan Austin

Stan

National Security, HIPAA, Attorney Client Privileges, and open bidding (while the bidding is going on) are basically the only reasons to redact public documents. Everything else is public at City Hall, especially if done on City owned equipment. Basically our Law Director was arguing that was not true, and the court reassured him many times, no that is the truth. This time they said, "That's the truth, and pay the legals fees too."

This is the third case City Halls has wasted tax-payer's time and money fighting for things they knew were not true.

Millions down the drain, millions squandered, thousands of hours residents had to waste.

The worst administration in the history of Lakewood.

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