King County in Washington state has agreed to pay a blogger $225,000 to settle a public records lawsuit over the county’s failure to release documents in 2004. Some see the award as a cautionary tale for government officials slow to observe open government laws. –DB
The Seattle Times
April 24, 2009
SEATTLE — Conservative blogger Stefan Sharkansky says King County has agreed to pay him $225,000 to settle a public records lawsuit over the county’s failure to release documents about the 2004 governor’s election.
Sharkansky filed his request in December 2004, seeking a list of everyone who voted in the election that year, but the county didn’t satisfy the request until more than three years later.
He says the documents that were ultimately provided revealed that elections officials in King County counted hundreds of ineligible ballots, which could have changed the outcome of the razor-thin race between Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.
The county issued a statement Friday saying officials had a hard time fulfilling Sharkansky’s request because they were so busy dealing with the gubernatorial recount and court challenge. The statement confirmed the county reached a settlement, but declined to say for how much.
Sharkansky wrote on his blog Friday that the size of the payment, which King County offered before trial, clearly reflects the county’s culpability.
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