Special City Council Closed Session 10 October 2013: Settlement After The Carmel Pine Cone Filed A Lawsuit Against City Over Denial of Community Planning & Building Director Rob Mullane’s Resume

ABSTRACT: After The Carmel Pine Cone’s City Hall reporter Mary Schley asked for Community Planning & Building Director Rob Mullane’s resume in August 2013 and was denied the resume by Liebert Cassidy Whitmore attorney Heather Coffman citing (a) it was not a “public record,” and (b) because Mullane was entitled to privacy where his resume was concerned, attorney Neil Shapiro filed a lawsuit on behalf of The Carmel Pine Cone against the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea “in an effort to get planning director Rob Mullane’s resume” on Tuesday, October 8, 2013.  Two days later, on Thursday, October 10, 2013, the City Council met in closed session. After the meeting, City Administrator Jason Stilwell provided The Pine Cone with details from Mullane’s resume. “We reached an agreement with the city, not only to provide us with everything substantive from Mullane’s resume, but also a promise that they would do the same in the future for all new hires to senior-management-level positions at city hall,” stated publisher/editor/owner Paul Miller.  Apparently, it takes the filing of a lawsuit against the City for Mayor Jason Burnett to get City Administrator Jason Stilwell to honor the Public Records Act.  Links to the PINE CONE STAFF REPORT, Editorial: The secret resume and Excerpt Highlights are presented.

Pine Cone sues city over resume, but suit is quickly settled
PINE CONE STAFF REPORT
Published: October 11, 2013
Excerpt Highlights:
ON TUESDAY, The Carmel Pine Cone filed a lawsuit against the City of Carmel in an effort to get planning director Rob Mullane’s resume, and on Thursday the lawsuit was settled.
“We reached an agreement with the city, not only to provide us with everything substantive from Mullane’s resume, but also a promise that they would do the same in the future for all new hires to senior-management-level positions at city hall,” publisher Paul Miller said.
“We weren’t necessarily expecting any surprises, but it’s important to remember that government officials cannot be trusted to decide on their own what the public is allowed to see,” Miller said.

Editorial: The secret resume
Published: September 20, 2013
Excerpt Highlights:
Given the weight of her credentials and the importance of her reporting, you’d think it would be a very simple matter for her to be given Mullane’s resume. Instead, she was given a flat, “No.”
Jason Stilwell is responsible for this decision, but he hid behind a lawyer when he made it.
Secrecy in government leads to corruption and abuses of power, and it must not be tolerated (except for matters of foreign intelligence and national security; presumably, the Carmel planning director will not be involved in either of those). Numerous California laws and decisions of its Supreme Court are unequivocal on all these points.
The uncooperative and unfriendly attitude which has taken hold in the administration of Carmel City Hall will lead to something bad, if not disastrous, for this precious city.