Oberquell records request called 'exceptional'

Retiring commissioner sought information on failed legislation

By Keri Brenner | The Olympian • Published August 26, 2008

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OLYMPIA – Thurston County Commissioner Diane Oberquell sent a state agency one of the biggest public records requests ever filed, costing the agency an estimated $9,000 for 300 hours of staff time and about $500 for printing almost 10,000 pages of documents.

What Oberquell sought

Documents mentioning legislation to require taping of executive sessions.

Documents related to House Bill 3292, the proposal to require the taping.

E-mail or documents that include contact with The Olympian, Seattle Time, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The News Tribune (Tacoma) and the Yakima Herald, along with Allied Daily Newspapers, a trade group, and the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

Any records "from, to , or with" four state representatives: Lynn Kessler, Mark Miloscia, Sam Hunt and Richard DeBolt; state Auditor Brian Sonntag; Roland Thompson of Allied; Kevin Phelps,a member of Sonntag's staff; and Toby Nixon, president of the open government coalition.

All e-mail about the state Open Meetings Act to or from four government addresses: @leg.wa.gov; @sao.wa.gov; @ofm.wa.gov; @gov.wa.gov.

All e-mail correspondence of Hunter Goodman and Tim Ford, staff members in McKenna's office, from Jan. 1, 2007, to the time of the request. Goodman is director of governmental affairs, and Ford is open government ombudsman.

Oberquell, acting as a private citizen, filed the request Feb. 9. She asked the office of state Attorney General Rob McKenna for records, e-mails and other documents that mention a failed bill in the state Legislature that would have required county commissioners to tape their closed-door executive sessions. Oberquell testified Feb. 5 against the bill.

Oberquell declined to comment, referring questions to her attorney, Mike Patterson, of the Seattle law firm Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch, Kalzer & Waechter. Patterson declined to say what Oberquell's motivation was or what she might have been looking for. She will retire Dec. 31 after 20 years in office.

"She made the request on her private computer, with a private logo, and not as part of her job responsibilities as a county commissioner," Patterson said. "If she's doing things in her private capacity, then she's entitled to privacy rights as a private citizen."

Asked whether Oberquell's use of Patterson — the same attorney who defended Thurston County in a sex discrimination case involving county Prosecuting Attorney Ed Holm's office — as her private attorney was a conflict of interest, fellow Commissioner Cathy Wolfe declined to comment.

"I would have to get more details," Wolfe said.

Follow Commissioner Bob Macleod could not be reached for comment late Monday.

Some observers, such as Rowland Thompson, executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, and Olympia attorney Greg Overstreet, former special assistant to the state attorney general for government accountability, said Oberquell's request appeared to be — at least in part — retaliation for a time-consuming public records request filed with Thurston County in 2006 by state Auditor Brian Sonntag.

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