The anonymous plaintiff who filed public records lawsuits against the county’s school district and Sheriff’s Office last month still won’t tell us who he is.
But he does want us to know why he’s doing this – the reason he’s asking a judge to order those entities to turn over the records he has requested but hasn’t received.
And it’s not what you think.
His mission, he said, is not to dig up dirt on anyone. It’s not to help or hurt any of the candidates campaigning for local office. It’s not to embarrass School Board member Tiffany Justice, who is expected to run for re-election, or derail the candidacy of Sheriff’s Maj. Eric Flowers, who is seeking the agency’s top job.
In a lengthy interview conducted online last weekend, the “John Doe” using the email address [email protected] – the plaintiff who filed both lawsuits – told me his decision to go to court was in no way politically motivated.
“I am far from anything like that,” he said. “I don’t care about politics.”
In fact, the mysterious plaintiff said he was upset last week when he read in this newspaper a story suggesting he might be a political operative working against Flowers, who is named as a defendant in one lawsuit and is prominently mentioned in the other.
“Eric Flowers is not the common thread,” he said, adding that it soon will become obvious that Flowers’ involvement in both lawsuits was little more than a coincidence.
He did not elaborate, and because he chooses to remain anonymous, there’s no way to verify that what he said about his motives is true. He did file these lawsuits, however, and he agreed to an on-the-record chat. So, at this point, I have no good reason to not believe him.
Also, there was no hesitation when I asked this “John Doe” plaintiff what prompted him to hire a lawyer and go to court, knowing he can’t be awarded monetary damages, since Florida law allows him to be reimbursed only for his attorney’s fees and administrative costs.
He said he has serious concerns about how our local government officials and agencies conduct the people’s business, particularly when it comes to providing the public records we need to hold them accountable, and he’s taking a stand.
“There are things that occur in this county that the citizens need to know about,” he said during our keyboard conversation, “since our taxes pay the salaries of these people.”
Too often, the plaintiff said, these officials and agencies resisted – and sometimes refused – his requests to see records to which the public is legally entitled, and that frustrated him.
What moved him to action, however, was the shabby way he was treated when he made his initial requests.
The plaintiff said he had made a public records request “for a simple thing,” only to be laughed at by a “very rude” clerk. He did not identify the agency, but he said the encounter made him curious about other local government entities.
“That got me wondering if this was the norm,” he said. “So, I started asking more questions, and the resistance I was met with was bizarre.”
He said he also experienced rude treatment and resistance when making similar records requests from other agencies in the county, as well as in some of its municipalities. Across the board, he said, the “attitudes and resistance” he encountered were disturbing.
“The common denominator was they all demanded my name and phone number, and most wanted to know why I wanted the record,” the plaintiff said. “I couldn’t believe it. I then began this quest for truth and right.”
Under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, any record made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business is available for public inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature. The plaintiff’s cases have been assigned to Circuit Judge Janet Croom.
As for why the plaintiff chose to hide his identity, he said, “The anonymity itself is a big part of this whole thing. It’s my right to remain this way. It doesn’t matter if these municipalities or officials don’t like it.
“The question that should be asked is: If they can violate these basic rights, what bigger issues are going on that we don’t know about?”
