CITY ACCUSES FOIA APPELLANTS OF SUBVERSION

Yesterday I received a letter from the Grand Rapids City Attorney's Office that was as pathetic as it was disgusting.  It was formal notice of the City Commission's denial of the appeal Mary Hines, Brian Tingley, and I (on behalf of L.A.W.) filed to overturn Assistant City Attorney Daniel Ophoff's refusal of our separate requests to disclose public records related to the tax assessment of the Boardwalk property.  (Click here and here for the background on this battle with the City.)  Ophoff drafted it and Mayor George Heartwell, Commissioner James Jendrasiak, and Commissioner Robert Dean signed their assent to it.

The notice concluded by accusing Ms. Hines and Mr. Tingley of "a deliberate and intentional act" to subvert Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.  What was this allegedly heinous act of theirs?  Making the same FOIA request I did.  Yet, without a shred of evidence Ophoff, Heartwell, Jendrasiak, and Dean accuse these two of dishonesty.  In other public documents, Ophoff specifically accused them of using fraudulent methods to get the disclosure of the Boardwalk records.

Of course, this is such nonsense, it's difficult to not laugh at these jokers as they pathetically try to justify their attempt to suppress the release of any public records regarding the valuation of the Boardwalk property that the Local Area Watch might get its hands on.  That's the bottom line.  Ophoff has taken the role of the City's obstructor-in-chief to stop by hook or by crook the release of any public records to us.  In the past Ophoff has actually destroyed records we have requested under FOIA.  Otherwise he has stretched FOIA handful of exemptions out of shape (as in this case) to justify non-disclosure.  Lately he has taken a different tack:  Charging exorbitant fees to release the requested records.

You see, folks, Ophoff and those who oversee him -- e.g., Heartwell, Jendrasiak, and Dean -- have all forgotten whom they work for:  You and me, the residents and taxpayers of Grand Rapids.  We have a policy of open government in this city to remind these guys of that fact.  With very few exceptions, everything the City of Grand Rapids does is subject to our scrutiny at our request.  These City officials have no privilege to herd together to block that scrutiny.  An important part of their mandate is to facilitate our scrutiny of their actions.

This is why the letter I received yesterday is not just pathetic, it's disgusting.  To disguise their obstruction of FOIA and defeat the policy of open government, Ophoff, Heartwell, Jendrasiak, and Dean have recklessly, stupidly, and falsely accused two citizens of dishonesty.  They are the real subversives of democratic open government in River City.

Comments

[John J]

After reading your website it's clear that Ophoff isn't working for us. He's working for his own agenda. How come he hasn't been fired?

[The Executive Director]

Hello, John.

Not to sound sarcastic, but who's going to do the firing?

Kurt Kimball, the City Manager, protects the City staff as his own. And the City Commission won't, because the mayor and the commissioners rely upon staffers like Ophoff to tell them what to do, not vice versa. (Ex-Mayor Boss Logie was a big exception in that regard.)

So the inmates are in charge of the asylum.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director