ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Mission Viejo: Why So Uptight?

It is no more convincing to hear a local government talk about keeping information under wraps for “security” reasons than it is to hear overworked appeals to “the national security” at the federal level. Local government exists to serve people, not keep secrets.

Mission Viejo, concerned about the release of information on a mall proposal under discussion, has just passed an ill-advised ordinance along these lines. It makes it a misdemeanor for a city official to publicly discuss information that has been the subject of executive sessions.

The issue grows out of concerns that Councilman William S. Craycraft might have passed along to a neighboring town “damaging” information. Council members say he met with Laguna Hills officials to discuss Mission Viejo’s strategy to help turn a commercial site into an auto mall. He denies it, calling his meeting social. And he raises a crucial point: Why was the council talking about redevelopment issues in a closed session anyway?

That points up the crux of the open meetings question. The state’s Brown Act mandates that City Council meetings be open to the public. It grants exceptions for discussions involving litigation, personnel and real estate negotiations. But the spirit of the law is to make more information public, not less. The closed-door discussion is the exception to the rule.

Then there is the free speech issue. Who is to decide when council members have violated confidentiality? A city can’t function and council members don’t belong for long on a council if they are not able to be trusted with retaining confidences. Public office should not be a straitjacket for those who serve.

It is quite conceivable that such an ordinance would have a chilling effect on the ability of council members to do their jobs if it were invoked without due consideration and care.

Don’t play politics with free speech or open meetings. This silly ordinance, with its club of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, should be repealed.