‘We have to create consequences.’ Leaking documents now possible crime in Fresno
The Fresno City Council adopted a policy Thursday that could charge elected officials or employees with a misdemeanor if they leak confidential information or documents — a policy some called redundant and poorly justified.
Meanwhile, supporters of the new policy say those criticisms are absurd.
The controversial policy narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote. Councilmembers Esmeralda Soria, Nelson Esparza and Miguel Arias cast the “no” votes.
Councilmember Paul Caprioglio, who is a practicing attorney, said closed session meetings with attorneys should be treated sacredly and the council has been too loose with information in the past.
“We have to be responsible for our own actions,” he said. “Since we’re unable to do that, we have to create consequences.”
The misdemeanor charge could apply to elected officials and city employees involved in leaking documents from closed-door meetings.
The ordinance calls for the city attorney or some independent representative to prosecute offenders. An amendment added Thursday calls for the council to take a majority vote to determine if a councilmember should be prosecuted before it would go before an attorney.
Detractors said the new policy duplicates processes already in place. The Fresno County District Attorney can prosecute elected officials who violate closed session rules and the council can discipline employees who break the rules.
“I think this legislation is way too sticky,” Esparza said. “I believe our present laws and procedures are sufficient.”
Councilmember Arias voiced a number of concerns with the new ordinance, saying it would have a chilling effect on city employees and sets up an “ongoing and consistent cycle of investigations.”
Arias even suggested the timing of the policy was suspect, given that former Police Chief Jerry Dyer is running for mayor.
“This poorly justified and written proposal simply should be renamed ‘The Dyer Protection Act,’ ” Arias said. “It seems the timing in the middle of a mayoral campaign is meant to silence current and former employees in the interest of political campaigns.”
Arias said the supporters of the ordinance want a double standard — trying to restrict any information from coming out about Dyer’s previous tenure with the city, while still allowing current Police Chief Andy Hall to comment publicly on closed session topics without fear of being punished.
Bredefeld called Arias’ assertion “absurd.”
“This is about stopping councilmembers with their own self interests from leaking information that hurts the city,” he said. “This is not about protecting Dyer. That’s absurd.”
Dyer, too, brushed off the assertion, saying he hasn’t been involved with the issue in any way.
“If the City Council created this ordinance, I have to believe there was a pressing need to do so in order to protect the city of Fresno from increased litigation costs,” he said in a statement. “To categorize this as the Dyer Protection Act is absolutely absurd and politically motivated. “
Recent leak
The new policy came after The Bee published a story about City Manager Wilma Quan threatening legal action against the city and demanding an investigation into a council member for discrimination and creating a hostile work environment.
The story was based on attorney-client privileged information obtained by The Bee. City Attorney Doug Sloan also asked The Bee to return the information before publishing, to no avail.
Soria, who is also an attorney, said the new policy had a disingenuous goal, noting co-sponsors councilmembers Garry Bredefeld and Mike Karbassi made no reference to the Quan incident while presenting the new ordinance.
She said the city staff could only point to one example of confidential information being leaked in the past five years. “I don’t see that there’s a true problem that we’re trying to resolve,” she said. “I don’t see any evidence that warrants us dealing with this ordinance.”
Still, Karbassi said closed session has its place and the city needs to send a strong message to protect certain information, particularly items related to personnel matters or potential litigation. The documents can be released by a majority vote of the council.
“There have been leaks so obviously there is a need,” he said.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 10:21 AM.
