I am writing this piece in response to the Op-Ed by George Erb in the October 1, 2025 issue of The Northern Light where he implied that I do not take the state’s Public Records Act seriously.
When I came on the Blaine City Council over 11 years ago, I attended a series of information lectures given to newly-elected officials to help them understand Washington state rules. The two most important of these were rules governing open public meetings and public records requests. We were told to have separate government and private emails and use them accordingly, which I have done. It was stressed how important it was to maintain transparency and the appearance of fairness.
However, these lectures also mentioned that public records requests were a means that disgruntled residents could use to harass and intimidate public officials in any agency whether it be the city, school board or fire department. This is the other side of public records requests that Mr. Erb failed to mention in his opinion.
The other problem with using public records requests as a means to harm an agency is that no insurance agency will cover this, thus potentially leaving such an agency open to financial harm.
My concern has never been the legitimate request related to a specific piece of information, but the use of blanket requests of thousands of emails on a non-specific item that takes up staff resources and expenditures that could otherwise better serve the people of Blaine.
As an example, a resident asking about the results of a water quality test done on a specific date at a specific location is a legitimate public records request that can be easily and correctly given. A request for all emails with the word “water” in them is not a legitimate request. This is what happened recently.
The city requires that requesters pay a small fee to receive copies of the public records. If someone does not want to pay the fee, they are permitted to come to Blaine City Hall to view the files. Blaine city staff have experienced files being requested, which are put on a city computer for the requester to review, and then the requester does not show up. This leads me to think that the intent was not to get the information, but to slow the legitimate work of city staff.
Retired Lynden fire chief Mark Billmire gave an excellent summary of this topic during the town hall preceding the Blaine City Council meeting on November 10, 2025. With his permission, I am quoting what he said during the town hall, “I agree with Mr. Erb when he states the public records requests play a vital role in ensuring government transparency and keeping citizens informed, but what he failed to acknowledge is that they are also weaponized to harass and intimidate local officials.
“Most records requests relate to a specific date, topic, event, action item, and/or person. By narrowing the focus of their request, citizens can facilitate a more detailed and timely response, saving themselves and local government both time and money.
“I know for a fact, having experienced it myself on multiple occasions, that public records requests are being used to harass and intimidate local officials. These types of requests usually take the form of a very broad, nonspecific search with an extended timeframe, and as a result in many hours of paid employees’ time to collect and are a waste of taxpayer money.
“The bad actors who make these types of requests are at least partially responsible for the negative attitude toward public records requests. I believe holding them accountable, and calling out their abuse, is an important step in improving the overall efficiency and transparency of the public records request process.”
