City of Alameda Likely to Lose Lawsuit

It seems the City of Alameda is playing a cat and mouse game with SCC Alameda, the previous developer of Alameda Point. SCC Alameda is suing the City for violation of the California Public Records Act (PRA), and it’s looking like the City will lose this lawsuit.

After reviewing the complaint that SCC Alameda filed against the city, it is clear that city councilmembers and city staff have not yet produced any of the emails requested by SCC Alameda pertaining to Alameda Point development, which is in violation of the PRA.

The City seems to keep making excuses, delaying response or simply not responding to SCC Alameda public records requests. The bottom line: this is against the law. The city has been caught red-handed not complying with public information requests, and this poor leadership by the city will cost taxpayers millions.

Interestingly enough, a fellow blogger Lauren Do also made a public records request. In addition to SCC Alameda, she was also denied the requested records, but the City Clerk gave her a bit more information as to why her request was denied.

Basically the City has two email systems. One that they actually use for day to day communications (the internal server called Groupwise) and one that they don’t (the server used for community communication called Alameda Access).

When the city clerk did a 6-month search in the Alameda Access server, there were ZERO emails from any member of the City Council, including the Mayor and City Manager Ann Marie Gallant.

Here’s where it gets sneaky: The Groupwise system, where the City Manager and City Councilmembers actually send emails, is apparently exempt from public records requests. To quote the City Clerk: “because the City of Alameda does not have the server space to retain the emails [and] … are systematically and automatically purged by IT every 30 days; therefore, they are considered “drafts” and are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Govt. Code Section 6254(a).” This is ridiculous! I’ve got a solution for you: use Gmail. You’ll have all the server space you need. Although Gallant did not set up the system that she abused, she is the person responsible for managing the email retention system (per depositions from City Clerk Lara Weisiger). Certainly this 30-day purge of all city emails is not a very good “retention system.”

At the end of the day, NEITHER SCC Alameda Nor Lauren Do HAVE received one REQUESTED email from any of the Councilmembers or the City Manager Ann Marie Gallant. This will not hold up in court.

Although this case is important in its own right, it could have a significant impact on the $100 million federal suit against the City. If the judge rules that records (which are being disputed in the PRA suit) essential to the federal suit were destroyed, then the city would likely lose, setting the city back $100 million. As a councilmember, I’d rather cough up the emails then cough up the dough to SCC Alameda… That amount of money would put Alameda into financial crisis.