UO public records backlog grows – but UO lawyer Kevin Reed gets my free speech emails for free and on time

On ThursdayFeb 2, 2017, at 10:42 AM, [email protected] wrote:

2/2/2017

Hi Professor Harbaugh,

I’m writing to follow up on the email I sent you on 1/24, regarding Kevin Reed’s request for “…all communications made in in the past 12 months, between the current chair of the Senate Transparency Committee and members of the committee concerning the business of this committee, as well as all communications between the Chair of the STC and any members of the media concerning or mentioning the committee”. The full language of the request is below:

 “Please consider this a request, under the Oregon Public Records Law, of all communications made in in the past 12 months, between the current chair of the Senate Transparency Committee and members of the committee concerning the business of this committee, as well as all communications between the Chair of the STC and any members of the media concerning or mentioning the committee.”

As I mentioned previously, all we need is an estimate of how long it will take you (or someone else) to find, gather, and send any responsive records to our office. If someone else will do the work, please send their name so we can form an accurate estimate. There is no need to send any documents at this time; however, if gathering and sending the records will take less than one hour the office asks that you provide the records at your nearest convenience.

Thanks for your assistance, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Lisa

Office of Public Records
University of Oregon
Office of the General Counsel
6207 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-6207
541-346-6823
[email protected]

I asked for clarification:

From: Bill Harbaugh
Date: Friday, February 3, 2017 at 11:17 AM
To: Kevin Reed
Cc: Public Record Requests
Subject: Re: Public Records – Request for Documents 2017-PRR-172

Dear General Counsel Reed – 

Two clarifying questions for you:

1) Does your request for 

 all communications between the Chair of the STC and any members of the media concerning or mentioning the committee

includes any such communications from my non-UO hosted email accounts, or texts on my personal phone?

2) When you say “any members of the media”, are you including my communications with bloggers, and organizations such as SPLC and FIRE?

Thanks,
Bill Harbaugh, Economics Prof & Senate Pres, University of Oregon, http://senate.uoregon.edu

General Counsel Reed clarified and expanded his request:

I wrote to Reed and the PRO office, asking that hey correct the log to make clear that I’d sent the documents:

From: UO Senate President [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2017 11:48 AM
To: Lisa Thornton <[email protected]>
Cc: Kevin Reed <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Public Records – Request for Documents 2017-PRR-172

Dear Public Records Officer Thornton – 

I’m writing to ask that you correct the public records log at http://publicrecords.uoregon.edu/content/correspondence-19 which currently reads

Correspondence

Requester: Reed, Kevin

Organization: Private

Initial Request Date: 01/22/2017

Status: Requesting/Reviewing Records

Please consider this a request, under the Oregon Public Records Law, of all communications made in in the past 12 months, between the current chair of the Senate Transparency Committee and members of the committee concerning the business of this committee, as well as all communications between the Chair of the STC and any members of the media concerning or mentioning the committee.

Corrections:

1) As you can see in the emails below, GC Reed made these requests in his official capacity as University of Oregon GC, not as “Private”.

2) As you can see in the emails below, GC Reeds request evolved over time, and I believe the log should show the final actual request.

3) As you can see in the emails below, I have provided the documents that GC requested in that final request, and the log should note this. 

Thanks, 

Bill Harbaugh, Senate President Economics Professor University of Oregon

GC Reed responded by ignoring my point that he had made the requests in his official capacity and doubting I had done this and demanding I explain what exemptions I’d used:

Professor Harbaugh 

As you know, the office has a long practice of holding that employees of a public body cannot make public records requests of the public body they work for. As such, Mr. Reed’s public records request was made in his capacity as a private citizen, just as your public records requests are make in your capacity as a private citizen, rather than a professor.

Additionally, I specifically asked you to provide responsive records to the office. We ask that you (and anyone providing records responsive to a public records request) do this to ensure the records are responsive, and that information that is exempt from disclosure is not inadvertently provided to the requestor. In reviewing the records you provided Mr. Reed I noted they contained personal contact information, which may be exempt from disclosure. Providing the records to the office, rather than directly to the requestor, would have prevented that information from being released. It is also unusual for the office to have received the records in .PDFs. The office prefers to receive responsive records in their native format, and requests that you provide any future records to the office in their native format.

I appreciate your assertion that you have provided all of the records responsive to Mr. Reed’s requests for “all communications made in in the past 12 months, between the current chair of the Senate Transparency Committee and members of the committee concerning the business of this committee, as well as all communications between the Chair of the STC and any members of the media concerning or mentioning the committee.”, later clarified to “all communications concerning or mentioning the STC you made in your capacity as an officer of the University Senate (Vice President, President or member or Chair of the STC)” and defining requested members of the media to be “…communications with reporters, editors or other personnel associated with the Register Guard, the Oregonian, the Daily Emerald, The Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Ed.”

I also appreciate you advising the office that you have provided all of the records responsive to Mr. Reed’s request for  “any communications you have had with persons associated with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education in the past 12 months, made in your capacity as an officer of the University Senate or member of any of its committees,  which communications relate to or concern freedom of speech or academic freedom at the University of Oregon.”

When there is doubt as to whether all records have been provided in response to a request the office makes a practice of confirming with the office or employee who assisted the office that all records were indeed given to the office in response to the request. The office appreciates that you have now confirmed that you have provided the entirety of the records responsive to Mr. Reed’s request, and I will now close this matter.

Sincerely,

Lisa

Lisa Thornton, Public Records Officer