In re the Recall of Lakewood City Council Members

(dissenting) — This case proves the exception to the rule that “no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.”1 No doubt disclosure is sometimes embarrassing to public servants who would prefer to act behind a veil of secrecy for reasons of political expediency; however, secrecy is precisely what the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), chapter 42.30 ROW, was designed to prevent.

This is a recall petition case. But the majority’s opinion is premised on a profoundly mistaken view of the OPMA, and undercuts the very foundation of the act.

At its heart this proceeding focuses on a narrow exception to…