Trenton gets ‘dishonorable mention’ from SPJ
Who’s handling the acceptance speech?
Trenton city government officials were one of two “dishonorable mentions” for the 2021 Black Hole Award, handed out by the Society of Professional Journalists each year during Sunshine Week to “institutions or agencies” that show “outright contempt of the public’s right to know.”
The Black Hole Award went to Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry for suing an investigative reporter for asking for sexual harassment complaints about a top state justice official.
“This was an egregious attempt to not only intimidate a reporter, but to intimidate all future FOIA requesters with fear of legal action for simply trying to learn what is happening inside their government,” Haisten Willis, the chairman of the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee, said in a statement Monday announcing the awards.
“Open — truly open — records are crucial to maintaining our fragile democracy, and all citizens benefit from transparency in government. Attempting to bully someone out of holding government officials accountable has earned the Louisiana attorney general a well-deserved Black Hole Award.”
The Trentonian nominated the city’s dysfunctional government, led by Mayor Reed Gusciora and council president Kathy
McBride, for repeatedly violating the Open Public Meetings and Open Public Records acts.
It also detailed city clerk Matthew Conlon’s repeated attempts to criminalize journalism by filing complaints against reporters with the FBI, New Jersey Attorney General and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
It was good enough to secure runner-up kudos, but Landry took home this year’s dubious honor after suing Andrea Gallo from The Advocate and Times-Picayune to try to prevent the release of sexual harassment complaints against Pat Magee, one of his top aides.
Magee resigned after a second complaint surfaced alleging he assigned women in the criminal division cases that he thought were “good for women,” The Advocate reported.
Gallo tried blowing the lid off the scandal when she made an initial public records request Dec. 14, Willis said.
Landry’s office stalled by claiming the records were a part of an “ongoing investigation.”
Then, in an unusual twist, he sued the reporter for “demanding information which will compromise the rights of our employees and could lead to litigation over the violation of those rights.”
A judge ruled in Gallo’s favor, ordering Landry to turn over the records with redactions preserving the confidentiality of witnesses, victims and bystanders.
The SPJ said Landry’s draconian actions are an affront to journalists everywhere because the suit could chill reporters from obtaining public records, “especially those from smaller newsrooms, freelancers or individuals who may fear the financial burden of a similar lawsuit.”
It also recognized heavyhanded tactics from officials in Trenton and Seattle.
Seattle City Attorney Peter Holmes, Detective Michael P. Magan and Seattle Police were also given a “dishonorable mention” for attempting to force local news stations to turn over unpublished photographs of protestors.
Trenton officials have faced intense scrutiny over the years for violating the public’s right to know.
With the help of CJ Griffin, The Trentonian has successfully sued Trenton eight times since 2016 for violations of the OPMA and OPRA, forcing the city to shell out about $50,000 for the newspaper’s attorney fees over that period.
The newspaper also wrote to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal last year, asking him to investigate an illegal closed-door meeting legislators had with redeveloper John Liu, who wanted to buy the historic Roebling Wire Works building. The MPCO is still investigating those potential OPMA violations.
Three of the lawsuits were filed in 2020, notably after Trenton illegally shut out the public from coronavirus briefings in which a quorum of council met with the administration to discuss the city’s pandemic response.
Officials held at least 60 illegal meetings before opening them up to the public once the newspaper sued.
Documents and recordings showed city officials involved in two infamous exchanges on the calls. Councilwoman Robin Vaughn went on a homophobic tirade against the mayor and councilman Joe Harrison.
The month before, councilman Jerell Blakeley called McBride an “illiterate crackhead prostitute.”
The slur only came to light after a state court judge ordered the city to turn over dozens of transcripts from the briefings.
The Trentonian also had to sue to uncover records and body-camera footage related to the death of Stephen Dolceamore, a Pennsylvania who died during a struggle with Trenton Police outside a local hospital; and in the case of TPD cop Derek Simpson, who was caught trying to cover up the discovery of a silver flask inside the glove box of council vice president Marge Caldwell-Wilson.
Gusciora hasn’t responded to request for comment on the less-thanstellar accolade.