Tribune sues city of Paso Robles, Chris Bausch after councilman refuses to release records
The Tribune filed a lawsuit against the city of Paso Robles and Councilmember Chris Bausch on Monday in an effort to force Bausch to release public records stored on his personal devices.
Since September, The Tribune has submitted at least 18 public records requests to the city of Paso Robles as part of its investigation into former city manager Ty Lewis’ claims of a conspiracy, including allegations that Bausch had harassed him and created a hostile work environment while working with Cal Coast News reporter Karen Velie to drive him out of his job.
At least three requests remain unfulfilled due to Bausch’s refusal to comply with the California Public Records Act. The city closed a fourth request for texts and emails from Bausch’s personal devices on Feb. 21, despite Bausch not turning over any items.
“It’s a tremendously important case,” said Karl Olson, The Tribune’s attorney. “It’s not just a matter of what the law says. Everybody pays taxes. We pay taxes to our city. We pay taxes to our county. We pay taxes to the state. We pay taxes to the federal government. You gotta know what your government officials are doing with those taxes. It’s just fundamental.”
On Friday, March 21, The Tribune will host a live online forum discussing the lawsuit and the history of the case. The event is free and open to the public, and you can sign up to attend and get a reminder here.
Though The Tribune is suing both the city and Bausch, city attorney Elizabeth Hull has made it clear it’s the councilman who’s to blame, accusing him of stonewalling and deliberately failing to comply with the requests.
According to the city, Bausch has “explicitly refused” to turn over messages and emails from his personal phones to fulfill multiple public records requests submitted by The Tribune, despite being required to do so under the California Public Records Act.
“Councilmember Bausch has stated that he will not make his personal devices available to the City and that complying himself would require him to conduct over 700 searches on his personal devices, which he deems unreasonable,” Hull wrote in a Feb. 7 letter.
“Despite being aware of his obligations under the PRA,” she continued, “Councilmember Bausch has explicitly refused to conduct these searches unless ordered to do so by a court.”
Bausch, who did not agree to search for records until The Tribune threatened legal action in January, claims he has, in fact, not refused, but rather has searched and continues to search for records responsive to The Tribune’s requests. He said he will need at least six months to complete the 702 searches identified by the city.
Even then, he said he’s concerned that the release of any responsive records would violate the terms of Lewis’ settlement agreement, which included a non-disparagement clause.
“I do believe it is prudent to seek the opinion of a judge as to whether the nature of the documents requested might be considered damaging and/or disparaging prior to risking a new and possibly justified claim from Mr. Lewis,” Bausch wrote. “Meanwhile, I will continue to search for responsive records.”
A non-disparagement agreement, however, does not prevent public records from being released, The Tribune’s attorney said.
“A lot of politicians say, ‘Oh, I believe in transparency and the right to know,’ and they’re basically just doing lip service. When it comes to walking the walk, they don’t do it,” Olson said. “Bausch, he’s not just not walking the walk. He ain’t even talking the talk. He’s saying to the public, ‘screw you.’”
The only item Bausch has released from his personal phone so far is a recording that he previously leaked to Velie despite refusing to release it when The Tribune first asked for it in October.
The Tribune argues that both the city and Bausch violated the Public Records Act by not meeting the mandate that records be promptly available. It requests a court order to prohibit officials and employees from using only personal devices to conduct public business.
The city’s lack of a written policy requiring public officials and employees to either use or copy a government device or account when doing public business has “made it possible for Bausch to do what he’s doing,” Olson said.
“It’s very disappointing. It’s very discouraging,” Olson added. “The Tribune has been put in a position where we have to go to court to get them to comply with the law.”
The Tribune also requests the city and/or Bausch be responsible for attorney’s fees associated with filing the legal action as it is liable for violating the law.
The Tribune reached out to Bausch and Hull for comment about the litigation Tuesday.
Hull responded that the city has made every effort to respond to Public Records Act requests by The Tribune. She said the city will review The Tribune’s complaint when it is served and “will respond appropriately.”
Beyond that, Hull had no additional comment.
Bausch had not responded as of noon.
A case management conference has been set for April 9 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley’s courtroom in Paso Robles.
Olson did have one comment he wished to make directly to Bausch.
“Follow the law, dude.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 11:29 AM.
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