Someone needs to stand up to bullies. That’s why The Tribune is suing Chris Bausch | Opinion

California’s Public Records Act is a powerful tool, especially when seeking information that government agencies would rather keep hidden.

It has been key to uncovering cases of sexual misconduct, wasteful spending, racist remarks and sweetheart deals for public employees — including one that allowed state workers to rent homes in some of California’s most desirable vacation spots for an average of just $215 per month.

But as communicating by text, email and social media has become the norm, officials are skirting the law by using private devices to do public business — and then failing to turn over messages as required under the state’s Public Records Act.

In those cases, a lawsuit is the only remedy, which is why The Tribune is taking the city of Paso Robles and Councilmember Chris Bausch to court.

This is not a “gotcha” move.

We would prefer not to spend our time in a courtroom — it takes time away from reporting the news — but we are convinced that the public is best served when officials conduct their business out in the open, rather than via secret texts or emails.

And the law on this is clear: Government records must be disclosed to the public, upon request, unless there is a specific reason not to do so. Generally, those reasons relate to privacy rights and/or public safety.

There are no exceptions for electronic messages, and if a public employee or elected official happens to do government business on a personal phone or laptop, those communications still fall under the category of public records that are subject to disclosure, according to a 2017 California Supreme Court decision.

‘Do not write anything ... you would not want to read in the paper’

That court ruling was a game-changer that forced agencies to reevaluate how they conduct business — and to offer warnings to public officials.

“This decision reinforces the longstanding adage — do not write anything in an email you would not want to read in the paper,” the California School Boards Association advised its members.

Yet it appears some officials still fail to grasp the ramifications of using personal devices for public business, which brings us to the case against the city and Chris Bausch.

For several months, Tribune reporters Sadie Dittenber and Chloe Jones have been investigating allegations that Bausch conspired against former City Manager Ty Lewis.

The councilmember already had a history of bullying; when he served on the Paso Robles school board, Bausch was censured for allegedly threatening and intimidating his fellow trustees.

Lewis raised fresh accusations against Bausch and went on to file a $2.2 million claim for damages against the city. Among other allegations, he accused Bausch of creating a hostile work environment. (Lewis, who retired in January, accepted $360,000 to settle the claim.)

To help unravel what was happening in Paso Robles, Tribune reporters filed 19 Public Records Act requests. The city did supply many of documents, but a handful of requests for records stored on Bausch’s personal devices are still outstanding.

The city is accusing Bausch of failing to cooperate.

“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,” City Attorney Elizabeth Hull wrote in a Feb. 7 letter.

Bausch says he is cooperating, but it could take him at least six months to complete the 702 searches identified by the city.

By that time, few people will care, which may be exactly why Bausch is stonewalling.

He also maintained that some of the communications could be judged as disparaging and releasing them would violate the settlement agreement he signed with Lewis, which is ridiculous because the communications precede that action and presumably would help shed light on the genesis of the dispute in the first place.

Also, this kind of argument is exactly why the Public Records Act exists, to expose secret communications that officials don’t want revealed, even if they are embarrassing or damaging to the person doing the withholding.

L.A. mayor auto-deleted texts

Bausch isn’t the only elected official in California trying to shield his communications from the public eye.

Others have been called out for disregarding — or claiming ignorance of — rules regarding use of personal devices for public business.

In 2023, the city of Anaheim found it necessary to crack down on use of personal devices for city business, amid allegations that Disneyland’s interests had too much control over City Hall.

“City officials directed staff to require the use of government phones and devices for top city officials and staff, forbid conducting city business on personal accounts and (required) officials to forward city business emails to government email accounts,” reported the Voice of OC.

Just this month, the Los Angeles Times reported that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has been automatically deleting messages on her private devices. That was discovered when members of the media filed requests for text messages the mayor sent and received while quickly flying home from Africa as devastating wildfires were breaking out.

As The Times pointed out, the city of Los Angeles requires that public records be saved for a minimum of two years.

Who’s to blame?

We believe Councilmember Bausch is primarily responsible for failing to disclose the records in his possession, in defiance of the city he is sworn to serve and at possible cost to taxpayers.

It’s an ironic situation, given that Bausch claims to champion open communications.

“I believe that the foundation to a successful City Council is built on trust and communication. I further believe that there is always room to improve trust and communication between Roblans and City Council,” he writes in his philosophy statement on the city’s website.

The city does bear some responsibility, however.

Paso Robles should have a written policy that requires public officials and employees to either use a government device when discussing public business or set up a system that forwards texts and emails to government accounts.

In the absence of such a policy, The Tribune is requesting a court order to prohibit Paso Robles officials and employees from using only personal devices to conduct public business.

Every government agency — no matter how small — should give clear direction on use of private devices for public business.

Consider it a way to build public trust.

It only serves to arouse suspicion when government appears to be denying access to records the public has the right to see, even if the record is something as innocuous as a text double-checking the time of a meeting at City Hall.

It’s past time to ensure that every member of every government organization in California is complying with the Public Records Act, starting with elected officials.

If a mayor or councilmember or school board trustee can’t wrap their head around that, voters will elect someone who can.