Mayor Denies Responsibility for Public Records; Judge Denies Motion to Excuse Mayor from Lawsuit

    In court on Monday, Central Mayor Junior Shelton denied any and all responsibility for Public Records Requests in the City of Central.  Mayor Shelton's attorney, Jennifer Simms, told 19th JDC Judge Don Johnson that the Mayor has delegated all responsibility for Public Records to Central's city contractor, IBTS, and that Mayor Shelton is in no way accountable or responsible for responding to Central citizens' requests for Public Records.
    Judge Johnson denied Mayor Shelton's request and will be setting the matter for trial in the coming weeks. Central's City Clerk’s motion to be removed from the lawsuit was denied as well. Mayor Junior Shelton, IBTS, and Central’s City Clerk are named as defendants in the suit.  At the full trial, Judge Johnson will rule on who in the City of Central is responsible for Public Records Requests.
    The Public Records lawsuit was filed by Central citizen and newspaper columnist Dave Freneaux after the City admitted that documents had been withheld from Public Records Requests filed between July and October.  The suit also asked the court to require the City to respond to Public Records Requests that had gone unanswered since November.
    Attorneys for the defendants told Judge Johnson that the City has now turned over all requested documents.  Seth Dornier, attorney for Dave Freneaux, assured the Judge that documents have not been produced, and that this will be shown during the upcoming trial.