A New Jersey town is locked in a legal battle with a retired teacher who they claim is subjecting local officials to “abuse” by repeatedly filing public records requests.
Irvington township filed a civil suit against Elouise McDaniel, 82, in September, alleging the former school teacher has filed 75 New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests in three years.
The legal action alleges that the effect of the “voluminous OPRA requests has been unduly burdensome, time consuming and expensive.” It also argues the teacher filed so many requests “with the sole purpose and intent to harass, abuse and harm Plaintiffs and employees of the Township, including its Mayor.”
Ms McDaniel ran against mayor Tony Vauss in 2018.
The former teacher says she’s not trying to harass anyone, and just wants information on how city funds are being spent.
“I’m a homeowner,” she told NBC New York. “I pay tax dollars. So I think I am entitled to know how my hard earned tax dollars are being spent.”
Though the lawsuit comes from the city itself, the mayor, municipal clerk, township attorney have all denied they initiated the action or declined to comment on it.
Public records advocates are alarmed that Ms McDaniel could be a victim of what’s referred to as a SLAPP, a strategic lawsuit against public participation, when governments use the legal process to shut down inquiring citizens.
“It’s especially ludicrous that they’re saying she filed 75 OPRA requests in three years. That’s the equivalent of two a month. You could file two OPRA requests a month just for the meeting minutes, so it’s in no way harassing ” CJ Griffin, a Hackensack attorney who focuses on public records access, told NJ.com.
“It would be a dangerous precedent if towns are allowed to start suing people because they file two requests a month, or even if they file 10. Reporters might need to file 20 a month, right? There’s nothing in the statute that authorizes them to do that and it’s retaliatory.”
