Bluefield Daily Telegraph
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An attempt by a clerk in Jefferson County to withhold the names of petitioners calling for a referendum on a new zoning ordinance is an unacceptable violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act laws.
The case is attracting a lot of media attention — and rightfully so. Just last week the Society of Professional Journalists announced they will be joining an amicus brief written by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that supports the Shepherdstown Observer in its battle to attain records of petition signatures that should be public. The amicus brief was filed April 16.
The decision to not release the names of the petitioners, who are calling for a referendum of a new zoning ordinance for Jefferson County, was made by made by County Clerk Jennifer Maghan, who based her decision on the privacy concerns of the signatories to the petition, according to a press release from the Society of Professional Journalists.
The Jefferson County Circuit Court upheld her determination, and the Observer turned to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to challenge the decision. The newspaper correctly argued that the petitioners’ signatures should be public under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
It’s now up to the high court to rule in favor of the public’s right to know. That is the only correct decision to make under state FOI laws. The decision by the clerk to withhold these names is simply unacceptable.
The public — and in this case specifically folks living in Jefferson County — have a right to know who is challenging the zoning ordinance.
While we are fortunate that we have yet to experience such a blatant challenge to the FOI laws right here in southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph has been a part of several FOI audits over the years, and found several violations across the coalfield counties of southern West Virginia.
Residents of Shepherdstown have a right to know who is calling for a new zoning ordinance in Jackson County. Zoning is certainly an issue of relevance to our region. If someone started a petition seeking to overturn the newly adopted ridgeline protection ordinance in Tazewell County, folks living in the region would certainly want to know who was attempting to overturn the tall structure ordinance, and why.
We urge the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the Observer, the Society of Professional Journalists and the citizens of Jefferson County, who have a right to know under FOI laws just who is calling for a new zoning referendum.
Any ruling to the contrary by the high court would be a blatant affront to the public’s right to know.
