On Dec. 21, 2023, Gov. Janet Mills took a tour of the damage caused by the flooding of the Kennebec River in Skowhegan after a devastating wind and rain storm. (via Office of Gov. Janet Mills)
A conservative online news organization sued Gov. Janet Mills for not fulfilling a Freedom of Access Act request to see her schedule during a storm in December that caused statewide damage.
After strong winds and flooding hit Maine on Dec. 18, Mills declared a state of civil emergency on Dec. 19 in 14 counties. After that statement, Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of The Maine Wire, part of the conservative Maine Policy Institute, requested a copy of Mills’ schedule for Dec. 17-19 to inform his reporting on the governor’s whereabouts during the storm, per the lawsuit filed Monday in the Kennebec County Superior Court.
Robinson submitted his request to Mills’ office on Dec. 19 and received a response from Tim Feeley, deputy legal counsel from Mills’ office, on Dec. 27 saying that the information would take two staff hours to compile and could be provided in two to three weeks, the lawsuit reads. Robinson followed up after not receiving further information after six months and had not received the records he requested as of Monday, according to the filing.
A tool regularly used by journalists, the Freedom of Access Act in Maine allows citizens to access public records from state and local agencies.
Per state statute , agencies must acknowledge receipt of a records request within five working days. They also must provide an estimate of how long it will take to fulfill the request and then produce the documents “within a reasonable period of time.”
“As of the filing of this action, it has been 195 days since Robinson’s request,” the lawsuit reads. “The governor has not produced a single responsive public record.”
The lawsuit seeks copies of the documents Robinson requested, as well as the cost of attorneys’ fees for the lawsuit.
Robinson is represented by Patrick Strawbridge from Consovoy McCarthy PLLC out of Boston.
The post Conservative news outlet sues Gov. Mills over public records appeared first on Maine Morning Star .
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