On January 18, 2022 at 5:30 PM, the Ashland City Council scheduled an executive session “regarding real property transaction”. It had been properly noticed on the city website. I requested a Zoom invitation from the Mayor. She agreed and told me that she instructed the Recorder to issue one to me.
Be aware that members of the press are expressly permitted by law to attend executive sessions of governing bodies in Oregon, except under a very limited list of exemptions. It is clearly spelled out in ORS 192.660.
Since I had not received the access invitation to the meeting, I called the Recorder and left a voicemail requesting that access information. At 5:11 PM, I received my invitation.
At 5:30, I logged in to the meeting. The Recorder was on video, but no one else was. Shortly thereafter, her video also ceased, while audio continued. The Recorder, who administers the zoom interface, stated that she was unable to fix the video problem. The Mayor asked if it would be acceptable to continue with audio only, but the City Manager stated that he and the Finance Director had a visual presentation, so video was essential. It was then decided by consensus that the executive session be postponed until after the business meeting.
The business meeting took place as scheduled at 6 PM without incident, audio and video working as expected. The meeting adjourned at about 7 PM (it was the shortest council business meeting in recent memory). Meanwhile, I had not received a new invitation to the newly scheduled executive session, so I emailed the Recorder at 7:06 PM requesting a new invitation. I did not receive a reply.
At 8:59 PM I emailed the Recorder asking “Did you forget about me?” I received no response. At 9:55 AM the next morning, I again emailed the Recorder, asking “I’m really curious why I didn’t get an invitation for the second attempt at the executive session last night. Please help me understand.” Again, I received no response.
I found this to be extremely odd, because Melissa Huhtala, our City Recorder, is almost always prompt and responsive to any inquiries I have. I wrote her one more time later that day, again asking for an explanation. By that point, I was speculating that someone else had prevented her from sending me the required invitation, because it was so unlike her to be unresponsive.
Finally at 7:36 PM on Friday, 24 hours AFTER the executive session, the Recorder replied, “I consulted with the City Attorney, and she advised that due to a lack of information at the time that you not be allowed into the Executive Session.” That was all she wrote.
That’s what happened, at least as far as I can report first hand. I do not know what transpired between the Recorder and the City Attorney. I emailed the City Attorney asking her to justify her “banning” me from the meeting. She never replied.
So now there is an agenda item for the Council’s 1/31 study session: Media Access to Executive Session
In it, the City attorney attempts to walk back her error. She even states the error clearly:
Immediately prior the executive session held on January 18, 2022, the City Attorney was contacted by the City Recorder requesting advice on the admission of an individual to the upcoming executive session. No evidence whatsoever was presented to the City Attorney to substantiate that this person was a representative of the news media.
Here’s the thing: she did not request any such evidence, not from me (the individual), nor the Mayor. She did not even attempt to justify her unilateral decision to exclude me from that meeting.
If you follow Ashland government affairs, you know I am a legitimate representative of the news media. I have been covering City Hall for the past year for the Ashland Chronicle, and have authored over forty articles. And you know the Ashland Chronicle is a legitimate news organization, and has been since 2016, just as it says on the masthead.
So now it’s up to the Council. Will they violate state law by trying to exclude me individually or the Chronicle as an entity? Will they adopt a policy regarding access such as those referenced in the agenda item? If they do, they will still have to allow me and the Ashland Chronicle access to executive sessions because we fit the definitions described by the Department of Justice. The DOJ clearly states that “public bodies are required to comply with the statute. They cannot modify the statutory requirement by adopting a policy.” https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/op8291.pdf p.4
Our City Council has many important issues facing it. Why are they being asked to take the time to consider this pointless exercise? Is it because the City Attorney realizes her error, and is attempting to cover her mistake?
Ashland City Hall has a serious transparency problem. That is why I report on what is going on in City Hall. The City Attorney has advanced the perception that the City has things to hide. Sadly, it’s a perception that many in our community share.
In a representative democracy, the citizens have a right to be informed about and understand the actions of their government. It’s the law. No individual or public body can be allowed to infringe upon that right. I personally will fight and do whatever it takes to make our City government more transparent and accountable to the citizens.
Ashland Chronicle reporter,
Dean Silver
Ashland
