TRENTON, N.J. – Gubenatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request back in February that unsurprisingly went nowhere, Save Jerseyans. This week, he’s told the Custodian of Government Records at the Office of the Governor that he’s filing suit to compel compliance.
Here’s the relevant excerpt:
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“On or about February 19, 2021, Jack Ciattarelli (“Ciattarelli”) submitted an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request to your office. The request identified numerous categories of public records and several specific records sought by Mr. Ciattarelli. More than a month has passed and yet Mr. Ciattarelli has not received a single record nor even the courtesy of an acknowledgment of receipt of his requests.
Pursuant to OPRA, your office had seven (7) business days to respond to Mr. Ciattarelli’s requests. Even with the Governor’s never-ending emergency orders, there is no legitimate basis for your dereliction of your obligations under the Open Public Records Act. We know from press reports and documents provided to us by other sources, that responsive records exist. While we understand that this is an election year and these records will highlight the failures of this administration and paint the Governor in a negative light, there is no legal basis to continue withholding these records.
It is my client’s intention to file suit to force the Department to turn over the requested public records and to seek our costs and fees associated with that suit. Further, to the extent that your failure to provide the requested records is “knowing and willful” we will seek appropriate penalties.
While you consider your response to this letter, please include as part your response, a copy of all communications between any individuals in the Governor’s office with the Department of Heatlh and/or Governor Murphy’s campaign regarding your response to Mr. Ciattarelli’s OPRA request.”
You can read the full letter here.
8,000+ long term care residents expired from COVID-19 going back to winter 2020. As the bodies piled up, it became increasingly clear that the Murphy Administration – rather than “following the data” or “science” – was simply going along with whatever disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did.
The Ciattarelli campaign isn’t alone in getting stonewalled. Mainstream media outlets have complained, too, of the Murphy Administration using COVID-19 as an excuse to ignore the OPRA law.
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