Your story regarding public records act requests for centuries-old records should be raising public eyebrows. (“$1.50 stymies request for 2 centuries of Snohomish County records.”) From personal experience, the Public Records Act is the only way to access government records without having to hire expensive attorneys. It is a powerful tool for citizens. We have already seen significant erosion in the original provisions of the act, with previously mandatory penalties for non-compliance revised by legislation to now be “penalties at the discretion of the court.”
Governmental entities throughout the state have been calling for more legislation to weaken the act even further, citing horror stories of how expensive the process can be. I strongly suspect that the anonymous “perpetrator” in the story is, in fact, someone working for government, engaging in what appears to be outrageous behavior with the ulterior motive of additional legislative revisions further weakening the Public Records Act.
As we learned in the case of Kevin Hulten, members of government can be adept at abusing the act. For those who doubt this, I urge them to review Washington case law. A substantial portion of Washington case law has been generated by governmental entities taking issues to our courts of record. The fact that so much common law is being created by governmental entities, which, unlike citizens, have no constitutional rights, should concern all citizens.
The Public Records Act is one of the few laws in this state that gives individual citizens the ability to stand up to the growing power of government. Readers should keep this in mind when they read stories that on the surface appear to make government the victim. In the words of John Donne, “And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
Scott Lange
Sultan
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