I just got a question from a reader about this, so here’s an update: A couple of months ago, I wrote about how I had sent a public records request in for all of the tips, complaints and comments that had been received by the mayor’s new Office of Ethics and Integrity through its employee hotline.
If you remember, I was soundly turned down. A letter came from the City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s office – written by his deputy Catherine Bradley – that said, among other things, this:
Releasing the information obtained in confidence would destroy the credibility of the employee hotline as a confidential means of voicing concerns and likely dissuade many employees from expressing their concerns out of fear that they would be identifiable based on the nature and details of their complaint.
I complained to Aguirre, who said he knew nothing of the letter and would demand that I got my records.
Then I received this from Bradley:
This is a follow up to my letter dated May 12, 2006. We are reevaluating your request for records of complaints and messages communicated via the Ethics and Compliance Employee Hotline to determine whether any additional records should be produced in accordance with the California Public Records Act. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
That was May 23. I have since called the City Attorney’s Office numerous times – not a word of response from them.