Spokane7
60°
December 11, 2009 in Opinion
Editorial: Park Board failed to take very simple law seriously
Let’s say you are a public official about to cast a vote on a public issue in a private setting. Do you:
A) Vote.
B) Politely note that you don’t want to break the law.
For the correct response, let’s turn to Tim Ford, the open government ombudsman for the state attorney general’s office. He says he can’t conceive of any condition under which state law allows for private votes by public officials.
This may seem elementary, but then, how to explain the actions of 11 Spokane Park Board members, who several months ago voted in executive session to continue negotiations with Mobius Spokane for a possible science museum on the north bank of Riverfront Park? Not one of them raised objections to the secret vote, according to two board members in attendance.
The vote came to light only when it was referenced during an open meeting last month. A search for the minutes documenting that vote came up empty, which raised the suspicion that it was done in private.
The rapid memory loss among board members is striking. Some say they can’t remember whether the vote was public or private. Spokane City Councilman Bob Apple, who sits on the board, can’t recall a vote at all. Park Board President Gary Lawton admits that it was a private vote.
A tape recording of this executive session could revive memories, but there isn’t one. That’s because the state Legislature has failed to adopt a simple law that mandates recordings of executive sessions. Under the proposed law, a citizen could lodge a complaint and a judge would then listen to a recording to decide whether the law had been broken. If so, the information becomes public. If not, the meeting stays under wraps.
The fiercest opponents to such a law are public officials, who have persuaded lawmakers that recordings are unnecessary and could cause more problems than they solve. In actuality, there would be few problems as long as public officials followed the law. The Park Board’s inexcusable action ably demonstrates the need for this accountability tool.
Lawton and board member Kimberly Morse told The Spokesman-Review that officials didn’t realize their actions were a violation. The absence of a recording means this claim can’t be confirmed. It is certainly hard to believe. Most of the members are veteran public officials. This wasn’t a case of navigating a gray area surrounding the exceptions to open meetings law.
You don’t vote in private. Period.
But if the board wants to claim ignorance, then how many other secret votes have taken place?
Given all of the controversies in recent years surrounding open government, it’s unfathomable that this is a training issue. But if it is, then the board has neglected that basic duty. If this isn’t the reason, then they simply thumbed their nose at the law.
This isn’t hard. The public’s business should be conducted in public. If that’s objectionable, then officials should resign and return to their private lives.
Don’t fudge fish standard 
MichaelCathcart on December 11 at 12:23 a.m.
Yet another in a long line of poor decisions by the Spokane Park Board. I was glad to see Spokane City Councilman Steve Corker rail against their decision making abilities at the 11/30/2009 City Council Meeting.
It’s time that we either strip them of their sovereignty or require that they be elected by the People of Spokane - either act would require amending the Spokane City Charter, an action that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but where the Park’s Board is concerned, enough is enough and reforming their business as usual tactics should be a high priority in the coming year.
liarsinnews on December 11 at 7:08 a.m.
When are the voters going to picket city hall protesting these people for breaking the law? The park board is immune from being stopped when it comes to decision making regardless of what the voters, the mayor, or the city council have to say and the board can tell us to kiss off as it appears to have happened.
Coffee on December 11 at 9:10 a.m.
Bring them before a grand jury, then charge them if the evidence warrants it. At the very least the SR should publish there names and pictures so the public knows who they all are.
Publius on December 11 at 9:43 a.m.
I’m confused. Was there a deadline reached in the Park Board negotiations that required a vote to “continue negotiations?” Normally, once a body publicly approves a direction to enter into negotiations with another entity, no vote would be required to continue that process unless a deadline was set or some other decision point occurred. Did the negotiation process break down necessitating a start from scratch? Otherwise, there should be no issue with the Park Board reaching consensus in executive session to continue the process until something substantial required approval (such as a lease agreement, purchase and sale agreement, etc.).
So perhaps we’re dealing with semantics on whether a vote was actually taken, or consensus was reached legally within executive session on an item that is already covered under the law. Sanctimonious pontification by the newspaper and attendant sycophants is a thinly veiled ruse to break down a necessary wall of privacy required by public officials to actually operate in a business-like fashion on items that are strictly business and work-place related.
I never hear anyone screaming about the backroom legislative deals made in every committee and majority caucus in Olympia during session. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Open Public Meetings Act applied to them as well. That’s the real crime here. Perhaps an idea for Eyman’s next initiative if he can ever stop beating up on local government.
Fuschia on December 11 at 1:32 p.m.
I still dont hear the hue and cry that should be abounding from the Plebiscite. Since so much of this activity is SOP for our politicians now days, the voters have become anestitized to any corruptness by our elected and appointed officials.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on December 11 at 2:41 p.m.
I like the Grand Jury idea best…. good ol boy/girl politics in Spokane lining the pockets of developers and real estate concerns. Go Get em…. (oh, i forgot who our county prosecutor is, and that the new City Attorney dances to the assistant attorney’s tune)…. Come on Mayor Mary… you continue to dissapoint deeply those of us left with any faith in your Chutzpah…. Off with their heads.. j