Recently the Rio Grande Foundation filed suit against Bernalillo County for not giving the Foundation public records relevant to the recently-passed mandatory paid leave proposal. Even after the ordinance passed we kept the lawsuit going because we believe in open government and we believe that citizens have a right to know who is influencing elected officials both in terms of policy formulation and in terms of what citizens had to say on the issue pro and con.
Unfortunately, the County’s responses to our requests have been woefully-inadequate. And then on Tuesday, September 10, we received the following email notifying us that the County had “discovered” another 11,000 emails:
We have not received these additional emails just yet but hopefully will get it soon. It is frustrating and disappointing for us (who do this work regularly) to know what New Mexicans must go through to get basic public records. More updates (and hopefully a description of the emails’ contents) soon.
Have you received any of the emails?
Hey Doug, not yet. They sent us the notification that they found an additional 11,000 emails, but then requested an extension until September 26, 2019.
Not yet. Supposed to get them next week.