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Public has right to see files of public official
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 14, 2001 The fishbowl atmosphere accompanying public service is one of the leading reasons so many competent people decline to offer themselves as candidates for elected office. Finances, civil and criminal court matters, personal and family relationships, and education and employment history become immediate subjects of examination. Richard Worch, the lieutenant colonel of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, should be used to public scrutiny. He served as sheriff of Charlotte County for 12 years before losing his re-election bid in November. Worch, though, is seeking to keep information stored on a computer hard drive from public view. The computer is publicly owned. Worch said he paid for the hard drive. The information is of a personal nature, both he and the Charlotte County's Sheriff's Office maintain. Worch said he would sue Charlotte Sheriff Bill Clement if he releases the information. Clement has not done so even though the Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune requested the hard drive's contents under Florida's public records law. Clement did provide 17 documents Worch wrote pertaining to agency matters. Clement's position is contradictory. He says the hard drive and its contents belong to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, but will not release it in its entirety at the advice of his staff attorney. He can't have it both ways. Worch could make things easier if he would rethink his position, particularly becausehe maintains the public probably "wouldn't give a hoot" if the documents were released. He should waive his right to litigate and let Clement release the hard drive. As a top officer in a new sheriff's administration, Worch should welcome the public scrutiny. Release of the letters or other personal documents might cause momentary embarrassment for Worch, but it would let him establish a standard for Pasco Sheriff Bob White's administration that the public's right to know will not take a back seat to political or personal considerations. Worch also should reflect on his own behavior. He did not return a police scanner and radio to the Charlotte County agency until the Florida Department of Law Enforcement became involved at Clement's request. Personal animosity toward his successor does not justify the tardy return of public property. White, for his part, has remained out of the dispute publicly. He should encourage Worch to soften his stand. Long-term credibility is more important than short-term embarrassment. White could even repeat the words he recently told the graduates of the Pasco-Hernando Community College police academy: "We're here for one reason: to serve. We're called to a higher level of integrity. We must have ethics and morality on and off the job." White should ensure that standard is applicable to more than just rookie cops.
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