The News Journal asked the First Amendment Foundation about City Administrator Eric Olson ordering city employees to not read emails from government accounts. FAF President Barbara Peterson was also asked about Olson’s calling the employer of North Hill Preservation Association president Melanie Nichols to object to her emails.
Peterson told the daily newspaper, “Unless a requester is making physical threats against a city employee or official, it is entirely inappropriate for the city administrator to interfere in any way with the citizen’s public record requests. To call the requester’s employer is beyond the pale and could well be considered to have a chilling effect on the requester’s constitutional right of access to the public records of her city government.â€
The newspaper said the mayor is obligated to take a stand on Olson’s actions.
Read “City bullying a citizen.”