Judge declares Al Merkel’s Nextdoor posts to be public records subject to release

Spokane Valley Councilman Al Merkel violated the city’s social media policy and the Washington Public Records Act by discussing council business on his private social media accounts and refusing to submit the posts for public records requests, a Spokane County judge ruled last week.

The Spokane Valley City Council voted to sue Merkel, arguing that he failed to cooperate after an independent investigation into a complaint by Councilwoman Jessica Yaeger found Merkel violated the Washington Public Records Act and city policies.

By state law, the city is held responsible for not complying with public records requests.

To date, the city of Spokane Valley has received more than a dozen record requests regarding Merkel’s social media content alone, which he has not provided to the city, according to court documents.

The Spokane Valley policy requires council members who wish to discuss council business online to create official social media accounts linked to their Spokane Valley email addresses. If an official account is not made, posting anything related to the “conduct” of city government is barred.

Merkel has posted on his personal Nextdoor account regarding a variety of city governance issues, court documents say, including summaries and commentary of city council discussions, complaints and criticism of city staff and officials, commentary on investigations into his behavior and promises to his followers.

“Defendant’s posts on his personal Nextdoor account appear to be made in furtherance of his viewpoints of what City business and government should be, posted as a mechanism to cause his positions to be adopted in further of the City’s business and its government, and posted in his Councilmember capacity,” Spokane County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Anderson wrote in her decision.

Merkel said while he respects the court’s time and consideration, he “respectfully disagrees” with the ruling and plans to appeal. He said he didn’t have the information he needed to properly present his case.

“This ruling raises significant concerns about government transparency and public access to elected officials, effectively justifying why most electeds do not answer messages from the public, a policy I strongly disagree with. I remain committed to pursuing this matter through the appellate process, and to being available and answerable to my constituents,” Merkel wrote in an email to The Spokesman-Review.

Yaeger, who initially submitted a complaint against Merkel in June 2024 regarding violations of the city’s social media policy, said the ruling aligns with the reason she made the complaint in the first place.

Calling Merkel a “permanent victim,” Yaeger said it’s sad the councilman’s violations and decision to pursue this course of action without complying will cost the city money.

“What I would like to see is to sue him for everything he owns, including his toothbrush,” Yaeger said.

Councilman Tim Hattenburg said next steps regarding the lawsuit will be more thoroughly discussed at the Spokane Valley City Council meeting Tuesday evening. Anderson’s decision requires the city to file a proposed order with the court to Merkel to comply with state public records law.

Hattenburg said Yaeger was also under investigation for social media posts, but because she complied by submitting any posts of consequence, the investigation has been resolved.

“That’s all he needed to do, but he refused to do so,” Hattenburg said of Merkel.