City Hall faces more records filings
By Melinda L. Lucas
Eight new public information requests submitted at Albany City Hall by Tammy Fogle of Abilene on Monday, Sept. 22, have extended the ongoing debate over the “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” ordinance in Albany.
A Sanctuary City ordinance failed at the Aug. 18 city meeting, when no motion was voiced to bring it to a vote. Supporters had been seeking to have it placed on the city agenda for several months, and city officials finally did that in August.
This week’s public information request filings seek specific communications between several city leaders and outside individuals concerning the ordinance.
Fogle, who has been involved in efforts to support the ordinance locally alongside activist Mark Lee Dickson of Longview, previously filed a wide-ranging public information request on Sept. 4.
More than 200 pages of documentation reportedly fulfilling the Sept. 4 requests were personally picked up at City Hall by Fogle on Friday, Sept. 19, according to city secretary Kenisha Lucas.
A second public information request submitted by Fogle on Sept. 9 broadened the scope of inquiry to include Albany News editor David Waller. Waller has no role in city government decisions and has not been involved in any internal communications regarding the ordinance.
The request specifically asked whether any city officials had shared documentation related to Fogle’s original Sept. 4 filing with Waller. As a private citizen and independent journalist, he is not subject to the Texas Public Information Act and was not involved in any activity related to the ordinance beyond routine news coverage.
To maintain full transparency and uphold journalistic integrity, Waller voluntarily recused himself from further reporting on the Sanctuary City matter.
The new Sept. 23 request now focuses on communications involving Councilman Chris Beard, Councilwoman Lynsi Perry (Musselman), Mayor Susan Montgomery, and other members of the council and city staff.
The request, all in one document, but with eight separate notations, asks for documents shared between:
1. Albany City Councilwoman Lynsi Perry (Musselman) and Former State Representative Craig Eiland or his former Chief of Staff, Lynette Kilgore that are relating to (a) the proposed Albany Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance, (b) the possible passage of a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance outlawing abortion in Albany, or (c) Jonathan F. Mitchell or Mark Lee Dickson – the authors of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinances;
2. Councilman Chris Beard and any person or organization inside and outside Albany, with the exception of any between Beard and attorneys Jonathan F. Mitchell and Jerad Najvar, Right to Life Across Texas, Texas Right to Life, Tammy Fogle, Rodney Casey and Mark Lee Dickson;
3. Beard and Montgomery;
4. Beard and any other members of the Albany city council;
5. Beard and city secretary Kenisha Lucas; and
6. Beard and city manager Billy Holson.
The last two requests ask for more readable images of citizens petition in a particular text message that appeared to be between Montgomery and Beard, as well what appeared to be a portion of the proposed ordinance that was sent between two councilmen on Aug. 14.
Perry issued a formal statement to both the city office and The Albany News in response to items #1 and #4, emphasizing that she has had “zero communication with Chris Beard about city business since the last council meeting on Monday, September 15.”
She said her recent visit with Kilgore in Austin was personal in nature, not political.
“I have never had written or verbal communication with Craig Eiland that was not personal,” she added. “I lived in Austin and was a banker near the Capitol for six years.”
Tammy Fogle continues to question why her input is being requested by local media, stating that her actions are centered on transparency in government.
“On the record,” she wrote in an email on Sept. 23, “as I told David [Waller], I find it unusual for a reporter to contact me simply because I filed a public information request. I will not discuss my reasons for making the request other than to say that in my role as a citizen journalist...I have consistently promoted the idea that all citizens should be paying attention to what their elected officials are doing – both in city council meetings and in communications outside of the public eye that concern public business. My goal has been, and continues to be, to inform, educate, and empower citizens to re-engage with their local government as was always intended.”
Fogle also sent a paragraph of comments “off the record.”
The Albany News contacted Mark Lee Dickson by phone and by email on Sept. 23, but in two separate phone discussions on Tuesday – one about a half hour in length and the other less than 10 minutes, he declined to comment “on the record” ahead of the paper’s extended press deadline.
Meanwhile, Mayor Susan Montgomery said again this week that responding to the open records requests is creating a financial burden on the city.
“Once more, I want to point out that fulfilling these requests is costing the city a great deal of funding that is needed in other areas important to the community,” Montgomery said. “And I also want to remind you that these are not Albany citizens who are continuing this disruption. I would ask the ones who stood with Mark Lee Dickson and Tammy Fogle for six months, please tell them to stop. You brought them here to town, now tell them to leave.”
As of press time Tuesday, councilman Chris Beard had declined to comment about the latest filings, and councilman Lester Galbreath had not responded to a text inquiry.
