Gov. Sam Brownback has been sued by three news organizations, including The Topeka Capital-Journal, after the governor refused to disclose the names of candidates seeking Brownback’s appointment to the expanded Saline County commission.
The Salina Journal newspaper and the Associated Press filed the lawsuit in Shawnee County District Court on Friday, and The Capital-Journal joined the lawsuit on Saturday.
Nathanael W. Berg, a Salina lawyer, filed the lawsuit.
In November, Saline County voters “overwhelmingly” cast ballots to expand the county commission from three members to five, the lawsuit said. According to Kansas law, the governor then appoints commissioners to fill the two newly created posts until voters can cast ballots to elect commissioners in the next general election.
First the Salina Journal, then the Associated Press asked the governor’s office to identify the names of applicants seeking the two seats. The governor’s office refused, the lawsuit said, and the lawsuit was filed.
“The Capital-Journal has a long history of standing up for the First Amendment,” said Tomari Quinn, Capital-Journal editor and director of audience development, on Saturday. “We believe the governor’s office was incorrect in refusing to disclose the names of applicants for county commission seats, and we support our peers at the Salina Journal and The Associated Press in their quest for open government and transparency.”
The news organizations’ attempts to obtain the names of Saline County applicants for the two county commission slots surfaced after voters in that county voted on Nov. 4, 2014, to expand the commission.
Following a loss of confidence in the three-member commission, several Saline County residents conducted a successful petition drive to require a referendum vote on whether to expand the county commission.
After voters expanded the county commission, the governor’s office asked those interested in the two slots to apply and to include information about their education, work history, professional licenses, and past positions on “controversial” issues, the lawsuit said.
Based on the Kansas Open Records Act, the Salina Journal on Dec. 9 requested the applications from Brownback’s office. Three days later, Eileen Hawley, the governor's spokeswoman, refused the request, saying the records requested “are not subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.”
The Salina Journal responded that some information, such as Social Security numbers, should be redacted, then demanded Brownback release the redacted applications or, in the alternative, the names of the applicants.
The governor refused to provide the information, saying the applications for appointment were “applications for employment” and were exempt under Kansas law.
About Dec. 18, the AP sought a list of Saline County applicants including their hometowns, and Hawley refused the request on the same day, again saying the request wasn’t subject to KORA.
The Salina Journal and AP “have a right recognized and codified by the Legislature to inquire into the positions held by those who sought appointment to an elected position and to then divulge that information to the public,” the lawsuit said.
As for the governor’s contention the applicants submitted employment applications, “Saline County Commissioners are not employees of the state, but instead representatives and employees of the Saline County residents,” the lawsuit said.
On Dec. 18, Brownback appointed David Smith and Luci Larson to fill the two vacancies.
The news organizations are seeking a court order to instruct the governor to release the requested records, provide “expeditious proceedings” in the lawsuit, and to award of costs and reasonable attorney fees to the news organizations.