The rules apply to Stanton too

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published April 21, 2007

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While he was city manager of Largo, Steve Stanton did things by the book and expected the same from his employees. So it is disappointing to see him now act like the rules don't apply to him. They do.

Stanton was fired by the Largo City Commission March 23, weeks after announcing he planned to become a woman. When the city turned down Stanton's bid to buy his city-owned laptop computer so he could keep it, his attorney said he would return it "with a new hard drive." Unacceptable, the city's attorney responded, because the laptop's hard drive might contain information subject to Florida's open records law.

Stanton did return the laptop, and the St. Petersburg Times has filed a request to see documents stored on the computer. However, an expert the city hired to examine the hard drive says files were deleted before it was returned. The expert also detected evidence that information was transferred from the laptop to Memory Sticks or portable data storage devices, and those devices have not been given to the city.

According to Largo City Attorney Alan Zimmet, Stanton contends that the information he deleted and stored on the Memory Sticks had nothing to do with city business. That isn't Stanton's call to make. The laptop and the information it contained belong to the city, not to Stanton. The city is entitled to examine all of the information and is legally required to retain any material that is a public record. Furthermore, the city regularly informed its staff that city equipment was not to be used for personal business.

Stanton is going through a difficult and confusing time, and his story has won him much sympathy and support. He risks losing that support if he doesn't abide by the rules designed to protect the public's right to government records.

The city should not hesitate to ask a judge to provide the proper encouragement if Stanton doesn't quickly comply.