CC SR 20180417 04 - Subpoena for Campbell Records01203.0001/465319.2
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/17/2018
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to adopt a resolution authorizing the creation of a City
Council ad hoc subcommittee, and further authorizing and directing the issuance of
subpoenas commanding the production of public records in the possession, custody, or
control of former Mayor Brian Campbell in response to multiple Public Records Act
requests, and authorizing the mayor to execute the same.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Adopt Resolution No. 2018-__, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE
CREATION OF AN AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE AND AUTHORIZING AND
DIRECTING THE ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS COMMANDING THE
PRODUCTION OF CITY PUBLIC RECORDS STORED OR RETAINED ON THE
PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES OF FORMER MAYOR BRIAN
CAMPBELL IN RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS
ACT REQUESTS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE SAME
FISCAL IMPACT: Unknown
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: William Wynder, City Attorney
REVIEWED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Resolution No. 2018-__ (page A-1)
B. Legislative Subpoena (page B-1)
INTRODUCTION:
Council Policy No. 46, adopted March 4, 2014, and effective through January 16,
2018, makes it clear that emails by councilmembers which are dealing with City
business are considered public emails and subject to disclosure, even if communicated
on the councilmember’s personal email address rather than the City email address. The
Policy provides, in relevant part, as follows:
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“. . .Further, any emails exclusively in the possession of individual City
Council members shall be produced by each City Council member for
review by the City Attorney’s office, if the emails are responsive to a public
records request and meet either of these two tests:
a. The email was sent to or through the City Council email
address, “cc@rpv.com,” regardless of the way it was ultimately
downloaded or received by the City Council member, the City Council
member replied using a non-City email address, and the reply email was
not sent to an “@rpv.com” email address.
b. The email was sent to or through the individual Council
member’s City email address, “[yourname]@rpv.com,” regardless of the
way it was ultimately downloaded or received by the City Council member,
the City Council member replied using a non-City email address, and the
reply email was not sent to an “@rpv.com” email address.
The phrase “using a non-City email address” includes emails sent through
the Council member’s personal or business ISP provider or email account,
when it is responding to an email sent to or through “cc@rpv.com” or
“[yourname]@rpv.com.””
Until January, 2018, City officials (Councilmembers and members of boards,
commissions, and committees) were permitted under City policy to use private email
accounts for City business. In City of San Jose v. Superior Court (2017) 2 Cal.5th 608,
the California Supreme Court held that when a city official or employee uses a personal
account or a personal electronic devise (including personal computers, personal e-mail
accounts, smart phones, including text messages) to communicate about the conduct of
public business, the same are subject to review and possible disclosure under the
CPRA.1
DISCUSSION:
Mr. Brian Campbell served on the City Council from December 2009 through
December 2017, with his last year as Mayor. Any email regarding City business that he
sent or received during his tenure on the City Council are subject to City review,
evaluation for possible exemptions, evaluation for possible redaction, and evaluation for
possible disclosure under the CPRA.
The City has received a series of PRAs from various residents seeking public
records in the possession of Mr. Campbell. They can be identified as follows:
1 In January 2018, the City Council adopted a comprehensive overhaul of the
City’s rules and procedures, which included an updated email policy that requires all
Councilmembers, commissioners, and board and committee members to use emails
accounts provided by the City for all City business.
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1. On November 10, 2017, the City received a CPRA request from Mr.
Michael Huang, which included City business emails to/from Mr. Campbell. The
request was recently renewed and modified by Mr. Huang
2. On December 4, 2017, the City received a CPRA request from
Green Hills Memorial Park, Inc., (a renewal of a May 2016 request), which
included City business emails to/from Mr. Campbell.
3 On April 5 and 6, 2018, the City received two separate CPRA
requests from Ms. Tracy Burns, also modified.
The CPRA requests that precipitated today’s proceedings were the requests by
Mr. Huang and Green Hills. Green Hills’ request was originally made in May 2016. At
that time, the then-City Attorney Dave Aleshire assigned then-Assistant City Attorney
Christina Burrows to work with Mr. Campbell to review responsive emails he might have
in his private email account.
Ms. Burrows made repeated attempts to obtain Mr. Campbell’s cooperation, to
no avail. After Mr. Huang made his request, and Green Hills renewed its request, both
the City Clerk and later the City Attorney made a numerous requests of Mr. Campbell to
provide his emails for review. The City Attorney’s Office’s efforts continued until March
9, 2018. Mr. Campbell was offered assistance by Assistant City Attorney Elena Gerli,
and later attorney Juliette Tran.
Mr. Campbell never provided documents in response to either of these requests.
Mr. Aleshire, Ms. Burrows, and Ms. Tran all tried repeatedly to obtain compliance from
Mr. Campbell. Ms. Burrows and Ms. Tran made themselves available repeatedly to
travel to Mr. Campbell to assist him with the review. None of these efforts were
successful. Mr. Campbell insisted that the City Attorney himself was the only
appropriate reviewing attorney for his emails, and that the City Attorney has been
uncooperative.
Mr. Campbell has a history of noncompliance with CPRA requests. Other
requests that Mr. Campbell did not respond to include a request from Barry Yudess,
dated May 19, 2016, a request from Barry Hildebrand, dated May 20, 2016, and a
request from Ed Pilolla, dated May 27, 2016. The City responded to the requests by
Green Hills and Mr. Huang with all the responsive documents to which it had access,
which did not include any emails solely in Mr. Campbell’s possession.
Accordingly, in order to assure that the City comprehensively responds to these
2018 PRAs, to avoid any perceived delays in making determinations whether public
records in the possession, under the custody or control of Mr. Campbell, are exempt
from production under the CPRA, and to protect the City from an exposure to litigation
from one or more of the requestors, the Office of the City Attorney recommends that the
City Council issue such necessary subpoena(s) as may be appropriate for the
production to the City of all public records responsive to the 2018 PRAs. In that manner,
the City can independently determine whether any public records responsive to the
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2018 PRAs in the possession of Mr. Campbell are exempt from production and avoid
any further delay in responding to the PRAs.
In addition, it is recommended that the City Council create an ad hoc sub-
committee comprised of Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Duhovic and Councilmember Eric
Alegria, for the purpose of reviewing, in conjunction with the City Attorney’s Office, Mr.
Campbell’s public records for exempt responsive documents. Mr. Duhovic was present
for all the closed session discussions about which Mayor Pro Tem Campbell has
expressed concern, and Mr. Aleshire has offered to assist as needed. The creation of
this ad hoc committee will assure that persons knowledgeable of closed session
discussions will participate in the review of Mr. Campbell’s public records so as to
enable the city to identify any of those public records which are exempt from production
under the closed session privilege in response to the 2018 PRAs.
Analysis
1. Legal Authority for Legislative Subpoenas
Statutory authority to issue legislative subpoenas is set forth in Government
Code §§ 37104, et seq. Section 37104 provides as follows:
"The legislative body may issue subpoenas requiring
attendance of witnesses or production of books or other
documents for evidence or testimony in any action or
proceeding pending before it."
A legislative subpoena may be issued pursuant to Section 37104 where:
(1) the subpoena is authorized by ordinance or similar
enactment;
(2) the subpoena serves a valid legislative purpose;
and
(3) the witnesses or materials subpoenaed are
pertinent to the subject matter of the proceeding.
(Connecticut Indemnity company v. Superior Court
(City of Lodi) (2000) 23 Cal.4th 807, 813.)
With respect to the first requirement listed above, the city attorneys' office has
prepared a resolution which is the "enactment" necessary to authorize the issuance of
legislative subpoenas. (City of Lodi, 23 Cal.4th at 810 (city council resolution authorized
advisory committee to recommend that council issue subpoenas).)
As for the second requirement that the subpoenas serve a valid legislative
purpose, California courts have held that the legislative subpoena power is broad. (Id at
810-11.) Here, the City is seeking the production of public records in the possession of
Mr. Campbell in order to meet its statutory obligation to timely respond to the 2018
PRAs.
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The third requirement authorizes subpoenas for witnesses or documents which
will be responsive to the pending CPRA requests in response to which the City is
seeking to comply. Here, the requested documents are the public records in the
possession of Mr. Campbell which are responsive to the CPRA requests listed above.
2. Execution and Enforcement of Subpoenas
Should the City Council determine to authorize the issuance of legislative
subpoenas, the subpoenas must be signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City
Clerk. Once issued, legislative subpoenas are served in the same manner as they are
served in civil actions. (Gov't Code § 37105.) If a subpoenaed person or entity fails or
refuses to obey the subpoena, the City may request that the Superior Court initiate
contempt proceedings against Waste. (Cal. Gov't Code §§ 37106-109.)
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternate action is available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Discuss and take other action related to this matter consistent with the
requirements of law.
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RESOLUTION NO. 2018-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF AN AD
HOC SUBCOMMITTEE AND AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE
ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS COMMANDING THE PRODUCTION OF
CITY PUBLIC RECORDS STORED OR RETAINED ON THE PERSONAL
ELECTRONIC DEVICES OF FORMER MAYOR BRIAN CAMPBELL IN
RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
REQUESTS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE
SAME
WHEREAS, Government Code §§ 37104 et seq. authorize the City Council to
issue legislative subpoenas “requiring attendance of witnesses or production of books or
other documents for evidence or testimony in any action or proceeding pending before
it”; and
WHEREAS, until January of this year, City officials (Councilmembers and
members of boards, commissions, and committees) were permitted under City policy to
use private email accounts for City business. Under that policy, City business emails
solely in the possession of city officials fell outside the scope of CPRA. This policy was
affected in 2017 by the Supreme Court’s ruling in City of San Jose v. Superior Court
(2017) 2 Cal.5th 608, which held that when a city employee or former employee uses a
personal account to communicate about the conduct of public business, the writings may
be subject to disclosure under the CPRA. Under the CPRA, “employees” and “former
employees” include current and former councilmembers; and
WHEREAS, because City officials were permitted to use personal electronic
devices to send and receive City business communications, the City has long had a
practice of requesting emails on personal electronic devices that are potentially
responsive to CPRA requests, even before San Jose; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Brian Campbell served on the City Council from December 2009
through December 2017, with his last year as Mayor. Any email regarding City business
that he sent or received during his tenure on the City Council are subject to City review,
evaluation for possible exemptions, evaluation for possible redaction, and evaluation for
possible disclosure under the CPRA; and
WHEREAS, on November 10, 2017, the City received a CPRA request from Mr.
Michael Huang (renewed and amended on April 9, 2018), which included City business
emails to/from Mr. Campbell. Mr. Huang’s request; and
WHEREAS, on December 4, 2017, the City received a CPRA request from Green
Hills Memorial Park, Inc., (a renewal of a May 2016 request), which included City business
emails to/from Mr. Campbell; and
WHEREAS, the City Clerk attempted to obtain compliance with Mr. Huang’s
request, to no avail; and
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WHEREAS, the City Attorney’s Office made a number of attempts by email and
letter to obtain compliance from Mr. Campbell to the requests by Mr. Huang and Green
Hills from November 2017 through March 9, 2018, offering repeatedly to have an attorney
assist him with the review of the emails, also to no avail, and has committed significant
resources to obtaining compliance; and
WHEREAS, on April 5, 2018, and April 6, 2018, the City received two separate
CPRA requests from Ms. Tracy Burns (modified on April 9, 2018) for emails to/from Mr.
Campbell; and
WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is fully committed to transparency in
government, and recently adopted new City Council Rules of Procedure (also applicable
to commissions, boards, and committees) to further this goal; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that allowing a sitting or former councilmember,
or any City employee, not to fully and promptly respond to CPRA requests runs counter
to the spirit and letter of the law and runs counter to the City’s commitment to open
government; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Campbell has a history of failing or refusing to provide public
records in response to multiple CPRA requests. To wit, Mr. Campbell failed or refused to
provide public records for review in response to a request from Barry Yudess, dated May
19, 2016, and failed or refused to provide public records for review in response to a
request from Barry Hildebrand, dated May 20, 2016, and failed or refused to provide
public records for review in response to a request from Ed Pilolla, dated May 27, 2016;
and
WHEREAS, with this Resolution, the City Council intends to extend its authority to
issue such additional subpoenas as may be warranted in the event City receives new or
amended CPRA requests for Mr. Campbell’s City business emails on his personal
electronic devices after the date of this Resolution; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Campbell has stated that he cannot provide the requested public
records unless attorney David J. Aleshire, reviews certain emails to determine whether
the same would be exempt from disclosure under the CPRA; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further wishes to create an ad hoc subcommittee
comprised of Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Duhovic and Councilmember Eric Alegria, for the
purpose of reviewing, in conjunction with the City Attorney’s Office, Mr. Campbell’s emails
for nonexempt responsive documents. Mr. Duhovic was present for all the closed session
discussions about which Mr. Campbell has expressed concern, and Mr. Aleshire has
offered to assist as needed. The creation of the ad hoc subcommittee addresses Mr.
Campbell’s concern regarding knowledge of the closed session discussions.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1. The City Council finds and determines that the foregoing recitals are
true and correct, and adopt the recitals as findings in support of the actions taken herein.
Section 2. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes does hereby establish a legislative
proceeding before the City Council to ascertain the sufficiency, adequacy, and
completeness of Mr. Campbell’s response(s) to the CPRA Requests (noted above) and
compliance with the CPRA during his tenure on the City Council, and to take such action,
as may be warranted by law to assure his timely, complete, and comprehensive complaint
with the same.
Section 3. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes does hereby further establish a
legislative proceeding before the City Council to ascertain the sufficiency, adequacy, and
completeness of response(s) to CPRA requests for any and all City employees who have
used or still use private email accounts on personal electronic devices to conduct City
business.
Section 4. The CPRA Requests covered by the subpoena authorized and
issued herewith include the following (Attachments 1 through 4, respectively, to Exhibit
“A”):
a. Mr. Michael Huang (November 10, 2017)
b. Green Hills Memorial Park (December 4, 2018)
c. Ms. Tracy Burns (April 5, 2018)
d. Ms. Tracy Burns (April 6, 2018)
Section 5. The City Council hereby authorizes and directs the issuance of a
legislative subpoena to Mr. Brian Campbell, commanding the production of public records
located on Mr. Campbell’s personal electronic devices in response to the CPRA
Requests.
Section 6. The City Council further authorizes and directs that any legislative
subpoena issued pursuant to the authority provided by this Resolution shall be in a form
provided by the City Attorney that is substantially similar to the proposed form that is
attached to this Resolution as Exhibit “A.” The legislative subpoena(s) shall be signed by
the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk. A copy of this Resolution shall be attached
to any subpoena(s) and shall be incorporated by reference into each subpoena(s). Any
subpoena(s) shall be served upon the subpoenaed parties in the same manner as
subpoenas are served in a civil action.
Section 7. The City Council hereby declares that failure to comply with the
subpoenas issued pursuant to this Resolution shall subject the subpoenaed parties to the
remedies set forth in Government Code §§ 37104 et seq. or such other remedies as is
provided by law.
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Section 8. The City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, City Manager, City
Clerk and the City Attorney to take such actions as may be necessary or proper to issue,
serve and enforce any subpoena(s) issued pursuant to this Resolution. This authorization
includes the issuance of such further subpoena(s) to any person or entity, their officers,
employees and agents, in furtherance of obtaining public records, testimony and/or other
information that will assist the City, its staff, and attorneys in their efforts to investigate
any failure to comply with the CPRA by Mr. Campbell. Should a witness fail to produce
the subpoenaed documents and/or evidence, the Mayor is authorized to report the
witnesses’ failure to abide by the subpoena to the Superior Court and seek any and all
lawful remedies including a ruling holding the subpoenaed witness in contempt.
Section 9. The City Council hereby create an ad hoc subcommittee comprised
of Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Duhovic and Councilmember Eric Alegria to review, with the
assistance of the City Attorney’s Office, all emails submitted in response to the subpoena.
The ad hoc subcommittee has the authority to make a determination regarding which
documents, if any, are nonexempt and disclosable under the CPRA, and so disclose
them.
Section 10. The City Council finds and determines that, in order to assist the City
Council in the conduct of its investigation, the ad hoc subcommittee may, from time to
time, recommend that the City Council issue subpoenas requiring attendance of
witnesses or production of books or other documents for evidence or testimony in this
proceeding before the City Council.
Section 11. The City Council further finds and determines that, in order to assist
the City Council in the conduct of its investigation, the ad hoc subcommittee may, from
time to time, recommend that the Council issue additional subpoenas in this matter in the
event new CPRA requests are made following the adoption of this Resolution and the
issuance of the subpoena.
Section 12. Exhibits. All exhibits to this Resolution are incorporated herein by
reference and made a part hereto.
Section 13. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence,
clause, phrase, or portion of this resolution or the application thereof to any person, is for
any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance.
The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this resolution, and each
and every section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions,
sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 14. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this
Resolution and enter it into the book of original Resolutions. This Resolution shall be
effective immediately upon passage and adoption.
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01203.0030/465487.2
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 17th day of April 2018.
____________________
Susan Brooks, Mayor
Attest:
___________________
Emily Colborn, City Clerk
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss
City of Rancho Palos Verdes )
I, Emily Colborn, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that
the above Resolution No. 2018-__ was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the
said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on April 17, 2018.
____________________________
Emily Colborn, City Clerk
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01203.0030/465487.2
EXHIBIT “A”
LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
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From:Emily Colborn <ecolborn@rpvca.gov>
Sent:Monday, April 09, 2018 4:38 PM
To:Juliette Tran
Cc:Teresa Takaoka
Subject:FW: FW: Final Determination Re 2017 Batch of Records
From:Michael Huang [mailto:mikehgalaxy@gmail.com]
Sent:Monday, April 09, 2018 4:06 PM
To:Emily Colborn <ecolborn@rpvca.gov>
Subject:Re: FW: Final Determination Re 2017 Batch of Records
Hi Emily,
Thank you for your clarification. Yes, in the interest of saving time and money, it is acceptable to modify my
records request to the years 2016 and 2017 for the item numbers you indicated,items #2 and #4 - #23 and
request responsive documents for the additional years as we receive the emails from the years prior.
Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely,
Mike Huang
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From:Michael Huang <mikehgalaxy@gmail.com>
Sent:Friday, April 06, 2018 4:07 PM
To:Emily Colborn
Cc:Teresa Takaoka; Juliette Tran; Doug Willmore; Dave Aleshire
Subject:Re: FW: Final Determination Re 2017 Batch of Records
Dear Ms. Colborn,
Thank you for your email. Yes, per my verbal request from the City Council meeting on April 3, 2018, I would
like to renew my public records request from my original email request on November 10, 2017. From the
emails that were produced from the official City servers, it is obvious that Brian Campbell primarily used his
email accounts to conduct city business. In the interest of saving the City time and money, I would like to
amend my request for the City to obtain emails only from all non-City email servers used by Brian
Campbell. Specifically, I am requesting the following documents:
Per the Freedom of Information Act, I am making the following information request:
1. A list of recipients' email addresses, in electronic form,to whom Brian Campbell sent an email about me on October 5, 2017,
from all of his email accounts with the exception of official City email accounts, including but not limited
to:campbell.rpv@gmail.com.
2. A list of all email addresses used by Brian Campbell to receive emails forwarded from Brian Campbell's official city email
addresses from January 1, 2009, to present.
3. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers from
January 1, 2017, to present.
4. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to City Council Election.
5. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Dave Emenhiser.
6. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Krista Johnson.
7. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Krista Johnson's House Fire.
8. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Planning Commission.
9. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Short-Term Rental.
10. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Short-Term Rental Advertising.
11. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to City Council.
12. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers related
to Party Houses.
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13. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Johnson.
14. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Emenhiser.
15. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Nelson.
16. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Sai.
17. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Tang.
18. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Lewis.
19. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Mizuguchi.
20. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Trull.
21. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Hendrickson.
22. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Eric Mark.
23. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email servers with the exception of official City servers to and
from Siegel.
I understand from the City Council meeting that the City currently does not possess the emails Brian Campbell
used on his non-City email server to conduct city business.But it is also my understanding that these emails are
public records as determined by the California Supreme Court, and I expect the City to obtain them from Brian
Campbell.
I would also suggest the City take steps to insure that Brian Campbell does not delete or destroy these
records. Lastly, depending on the information obtained from the request above, I may seek additional emails
from Brian Campbell's non-City email servers that were used to conduct city business. So in the interest of
efficiency and expediency, it may be more efficient for the City to obtain the emails from all of the non-City
email servers Brian Campbell used.
I would also appreciate it if you can keep me updated on the status of the City's effort to obtain these
records.Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mike Huang
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From:Michael Huang <mikehgalaxy@gmail.com>
Sent:Friday, November 10, 2017 12:54 PM
To:CityClerk
Cc:Doug Willmore
Subject:Freedom of Information Act Request
Dear Ms. Colburn,
Per the Freedom of Information Act, I am making the following information request:
1. A list of recipients' email addresses, in electronic form, to whom Brian Campbell sent an email about me on
October 5, 2017, from all email accounts, including but not limited to:campbell.rpv@gmail.com and
brian.campbell@rpvca.gov.
2. A list of all email addresses used by Brian Campbell to receive emails forwarded from Brian Campbell's
work email addresses from January 1, 2009, to present.
3. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email addresses from January 1, 2017, to
present.
4. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to City Council
Election.
5. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Dave Emenhiser.
6. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Krista Johnson.
7. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Krista Johnson's
House Fire.
8. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Planning
Commission.
9. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Short-Term Rental.
10. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Short-Term Rental
Advertising.
11. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to City Council.
12. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts related to Party Houses.
13. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Johnson.
14. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Emenhiser.
15. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Nelson.
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16. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Sai.
17. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Tang.
18. All emails received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Lewis.
19. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Mizuguchi.
20. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Trull.
21. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Hendrickson.
22. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Eric Mark.
23. All email received and sent by Brian Campbell from all of his email accounts to and from Siegel.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if any of these catagories are not clear. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Mike Huang
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GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW WWW.GTLAW.COM
1840 Century Park East, Suite 1900, Los Angeles, California 90067-2121 Tel: 310.586.7700 Fax 310.586.7800
LA 133406252v2
Ellen Berkowitz
Tel 310.586.7763
Fax 310.586.7800
berkowitze@gtlaw.com
December 4, 2017
Emily Colborn, City Clerk
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Re: Public Records Act Request
Dear Ms. Colborn:
On May 23, 2016, Green Hills Memorial Park (“Green Hills”) submitted a request pursuant to
the Public Records Act, Government Code Section 6250 et seq., for the following public records:
1. All Communications from Brian Campbell that reference Green Hills
Memorial Park.
2. All Communications to Brian Campbell that reference Green Hills Memorial
Park.
3. All Communications from David Tomblin that reference Green Hills
Memorial Park.
4. All Communications to David Tomblin that reference Green Hills Memorial
Park.
To reduce the number of documents that could be deemed responsive to this request, we
defined the term “Communications” to include, but not be limited to, letters, emails,
memoranda, notes or other written materials, but to exclude copies of agendas or staff reports
transmitted to Mr. Campbell and/or Mr. Tomblin by City staff members as part of the City’s
regular distribution process for public hearings. We further stated that the term “Green Hills
Memorial Park” includes all other names by which the entity may be known such as Green Hills
or GHMP, and includes references to members of its Board of Directors individually (Ray Frew,
John Resich or Dennis Lane).
In response to our request, the City provided a handful of documents from Mr. Campbell, and
advised that Mr. Tomblin did not have any documents responsive to our request. In response
to our further inquiry about the paucity of documents produced, the City advised that Mr.
Campbell would produce additional documents but if, and only if, he could personally hand-
deliver such documents in a face-to-face meeting with Green Hills’ President, Ray Frew. We
A-12
Ms. Colborn
December 4, 2017
Page 2
LA 133406252v2
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP Attorneys at Law www.gtlaw.com
were also again advised that Mr. Tomblin did not have any documents responsive to our
request.
There is nothing in the Public Records Act that permits a public official such as Mr. Campbell to
refuse to make public documents available unless the public official’s demands dictating the
terms for disclosure are met. Rather, the law requires the agency to allow the requested
records to be inspected at the agency during its regular office hours. See Cal. Gov’t Code §
6253(a); see also Summary of the California Public Records Act 2004 (“Summary”)(California
Attorney General’s Office, at p. 4). Therefore, we renew our request for an inspection of the
records in Mr. Campbell’s possession that are responsive to our request. With regard to Mr.
Tomblin’s claim that no records responsive to our request exist, we also renew our request, as
Mr. Tomblin’s denial of the existence of such records strains credulity.
Further, please be advised that since our original request, the California Supreme Court decided
City of San Jose v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.5th 608 (2017), which held that communications on a
city employee’s personal email account are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act
when the communications relate to the conduct of the public’s business. Id. at 629. The Court
was careful to note that, to qualify as a public record subject to a disclosure, the “writing must
relate in some substantive way to the conduct of the public's business.” Id. at 618. “Resolution
of the question, particularly when writings are kept in personal accounts, will often involve an
examination of several factors, including the content itself; the context in, or purpose for which,
it was written; the audience to whom it was directed; and whether the writing was prepared by
an employee acting or purporting to act within the scope of his or her employment.” Id.
In light of the holding in City of San Jose, our renewed request includes all Communications on
Mr. Campbell’s and Mr. Tomblin’s personal email accounts that qualify as public records
pursuant to the standard set forth in that case. If either gentleman is unsure whether the
nature of the particular Communication meets the definition of a public record (i.e., whether it
relates to “the conduct of the public’s business”), we would urge him to confer with the City
Attorney for further guidance rather than simply claim there are no records responsive to this
request.
We further remind the City of the breadth of the scope of the Public Records Act, and the City’s
obligation to make the public’s business accessible to members of the public. As articulated by
the California Attorney General:
“The public may inspect or obtain a copy of identifiable public records. Writings
held by state or local government are public records. A writing includes all forms
of recorded information that currently exist or that may exist in the future. The
essence of the CPRA is to provide access to information, not merely documents
and files. However, it is not enough to provide extracted information to the
requestor, the document containing the information must be provided.”
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Ms. Colborn
December 4, 2017
Page 3
LA 133406252v2
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP Attorneys at Law www.gtlaw.com
Summary at p. 2. (footnotes omitted, emphasis added).
To ensure that the City does not take an unduly restrictive reading of our request, we also
augment our request for the term “Communications” to include references to Green Hills’
management team (Thomas Frew and Nick Resich), its attorneys (Kevin Brogan and Ellen
Berkowitz) and its consultant (Rudy Svorinich). Additionally, Communications referring to
Green Hills should also include references to “the cemetery” or “burial grounds” or “your
neighbor” where it is clear that such terms are alluding to Green Hills.
Finally, we add the following new requests:
5. All Communications between Brian Campbell and residents or owners of the
Vista Verde Condominiums, located at 2110 Palos Verdes Drive, Lomita, CA
(“Vista Verde”).
6. All Communications between Brian Campbell and Attorney Noel Weiss.
7. All Communications between David Tomblin and residents or owners of Vista
Verde.
8. All Communications between David Tomblin and Attorney Noel Weiss.
Should the City refuse to provide Green Hills with the opportunity to inspect Communications
responsive to this request, please be advised that we will not hesitate to pursue all available
remedies, including but not limited to, our right to institute proceedings for injunctive or
declarative relief or writ of mandate. Cal. Gov’t Code § 6258. Pursuant to the Public Records
Act, please further be advised that should the court find that the City is improperly withholding
the requested records, the court shall order the records disclosed, and shall award attorney’s
fees and costs to the prevailing petitioner. Id. at 6259(b), (d).
Thank you for your renewed consideration of our request. We look forward to your prompt
reply.
Sincerely,
Ellen Berkowitz
cc: Kevin Brogan
A-14
1
From:Emily Colborn <ecolborn@rpvca.gov>
Sent:Monday, April 09, 2018 4:45 PM
To:Tracy Burns
Cc:Teresa Takaoka; Juliette Tran
Subject:RE: RPV - Public Records Request (ALL emails to and from Brian Campbell)
Hi Tracy,
Per our conversation, we will be requesting all emails during January 1, 2016 to December 5, 2017 (the day he left office)
relating to city business Brian Campbell received or sent using any and all private email accounts only. Responsive
documents for any additional years may be requested as we receive the emails from the years prior. Please note per
your request below no search of emails on City email servers will be conducted.
Please allow up to ten (10) days from your inquiry date for a response.In the meantime, should you need any additional
information or have any questions, feel free to contact me.
-Emily
Emily Colborn, MMC, City Clerk
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
(310) 544-5208
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
From:Tracy Burns [mailto:akamomma@gmail.com]
Sent:Friday, April 06, 2018 10:10 AM
To:Teresa Takaoka <TeriT@rpvca.gov>; CityClerk <CityClerk@rpvca.gov>
Subject:Re: RPV - Public Records Request (ALL emails to and from Brian Campbell)
THIS ONE IS STILL GOOD and I only want the records from Brian Campbell nothing from the city, because it
is ALL from his private email accounts he used to conduct city business.
Sincerely,
Tracy Burns
On Thu, Apr 5, 2018 at 10:17 AM, Tracy Burns <akamomma@gmail.com> wrote:
Official Public Records Request
Please provide any and all emails relating to city business Brian Campbell received or sent using any and all
private email accounts during his entire tenure on the City Council (8 years).
The California Supreme Court (City of San Jose v. Superior Court) decided that City-related emails on public
officials’ private email accounts were public records and discoverable.
A-15
2
Sincerely,
Tracy Burns
--
Tracy
A-16
1
From:Emily Colborn <ecolborn@rpvca.gov>
Sent:Monday, April 09, 2018 4:11 PM
To:Tracy Burns
Cc:Teresa Takaoka; Juliette Tran
Subject:RE: RPV - Public Records Request (City Clerk)
Hi Tracy,
To summarize our conversation from earlier today, our IT department will search City email servers for responsive
documents pertaining to your PRA below. This initial search will include emails only for the years 2007 and 2006 (from
January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007) using the following search terms: Green Hills, GH, Vista Verde Homeowner's
Association, VVHOA, VV, setback, building. We will start with these dates since your request has a special interest in the
year 2007. This same request will be forwarded to Brian Campbell requesting emails from any of his personal email
account.
Subsequent searches for responsive documents may be done for additional years requested as we receive and review
the emails from the years prior. For your reference Jeffery Lewis served on the Planning Commission from 2006-2014.
Please allow up to ten (10) days from your inquiry date for a response. In the meantime, shou ld you need any additional
information or have any questions, feel free to contact me.
-Emily
Emily Colborn, MMC, City Clerk
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
(310) 544-5208
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
From:Tracy Burns [mailto:akamomma@gmail.com]
Sent:Friday, April 06, 2018 10:08 AM
To:CityClerk <CityClerk@rpvca.gov>; Teresa Takaoka <TeriT@rpvca.gov>
Subject:RPV - Public Records Request (City Clerk)
Official Public Records Request
From the RPV City Clerk -
Please provide any emails Jeffrey Lewis sent to or received from Brian Campbell during his (Jeff's)
tenure as Planning Commissioner. Please pay special attention to any communications that contain
any of the following keywords: Green Hills, GH, Vista Verde Homeowner's Association, VVHOA, VV,
setback, building. I believe the Planning Commission which included Jeffrey Lewis at that time,
granted approval to Green Hills in 2007.
Additionally, please provide a copy of the complete STR file regarding 7242 Avenida Altisima including a list of actions taken
with dates. If any closed door City Council Meeting files have been de-classified within the last year I’d like a copy of those also.
A-17
2
Thank you!
--
Tracy Burns
A-18
LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
(Government Code §§ 37104 et seq)
Production Date: April ___, 2018
Time: 1 :00 p.m., PST
Place: City of Rancho
Palos Verdes City Hall, 30940 Hawthorne
Blvd, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
90275
TO: Mr. Brian Campbell
FROM: CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES,
CALIFORNIA
1.On April 17, 2018, the City Council of Rancho Palos Verdes adopted Resolution No. 18-
___ authorizing and directing the issuance of this subpoena. A true and copy of Resolution 18-
___ is attached hereto and incorporated by this reference.
2.YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED & COMMANDED by the City Council of the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes to appear in person and produce the Public Records described in Exhibit
“1” hereto at the Regular City Council Meeting of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes at 30940
Hawthorne Blvd, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275, on , 2018, at 6:00
p.m.
3.You are not required to appear in person and produce the requested Documents IF,
by 1:00 p.m. on , 2018, you deliver true, complete, legible, and
durable copies of the requested Documents described in Exhibit “1” to:
Doug Willmore
City Manager
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd
Rancho Palos Verdes,
California 90275
3.All Documents produced to the City shall be accompanied by a declaration or affidavit
warranting to their authenticity and completeness sufficient to meet the requirements of
California Code of Civil Procedure § 2020.430. The City will pay all reasonable documented
costs associated with photocopying the requested documents. If costs exceed $500.00 please
contact William W. Wynder, Esq., at (310) 527-6667 b efore copying.
4.This subpoena is issued pursuant to California Government Code § 37104 et seq.and
authorized, at a regularly noticed meeting of the City of Carson City Council.
/ / /
IN RE:
BRIAN CAMPBELL
SUBPOENA FOR
PRODUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
B-1
5. Disobedience of this subpoena will be referred to the Superior Court for enforcement and
is punishable as contempt pursuant to California Government Code §§ 37104 et seq and as
otherwise provided by law. Should you have any questions regarding this subpoena please
contact:
William W. Wynder (SBN 84753)
Attorney for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Aleshire & Wynder, LLP
2361 Rosecrans Boulevard, Suite 475
El Segundo, CA 90245
Date Issued: April 17, 2018
City of Rancho Palos Verdes¶
BY:
ATTEST:
BY:
Susan Brooks Emily Colborn
Mayor, City of Rancho Palos Verdes City Clerk, City of Carson
APPROVE AS TO FORM
BY:_________________
William W. Wynder
City Attorney
B-2
EXHIBIT “1”
DEFINITIONS
“CITY BUSINESS EMAIL” means any email that constitutes a public record, i.e.,
any email containing information relating to the conduct of the City’s business in the
possession, custody, or control of Mr. Campbell.
“CITY EMPLOYEE” shall include current and former employee(s) and independent
contractors performing work for the City, including public officials and Councilmembers.
“CPRA” means the California Public Records Act, Government Code Section 6250
et seq.
“CPRA REQUESTS” means the following requests (or as they may be amended or
clarified):
• Michael Huang (November 10, 2017, renewed at Council meeting on April 3,
2018, and amended on April 6, 2018), attached as Attachment 1
• Green Hills (December 4, 2018, renewed from May 20, 2016), attached as
Attachment 2
• Tracy Burns (April 5, 2018, and amended on April 6, 2018 and April 9, 2018);
attached as Attachment 3
• Tracy Burns (April 6, 2018, and amended on April 9, 2018); attached as
Attachment 4
“PERSONAL EMAIL ACCOUNT” means any electronic email account or accounts
that is/are controlled solely by Mr. Campbell, without any affiliation or control by the City.
“PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICE(S)” means any computer, tablet, mobile phone
(including smart phone), or any electronic device capable of receiving, storing, or sending
electronic messages and electronic mail. Personal electronic devices also include personal email
accounts.
“PUBLIC RECORD” has the same meaning as Section 6252(e) of the Government
Code.
“MR. CAMPBELL” means Mr. Brian Campbell, former councilmember and mayor of
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
REQUESTED DOCUMENTS
B-3
A. All emails on Mr. Campbell’s personal electronic devices, responsive to Mr. Michael
Huang’s November 10, 2017 CPRA request, requests nos. 1 through 23. (See
Attachment 1 for the original request and later clarifications.)
1. A list of recipients' email addresses, in electronic form, to whom Mr. Campbell
sent an email about me on October 5, 2017, from all email accounts, including but
not limited to: campbell.rpv@gmail.com and brian.campbell@rpvca.gov.
2. A list of all email addresses used by Mr. Campbell to receive emails forwarded
from Mr. Campbell's work email addresses from January 1, 2016 through
December 31, 2017.
3. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email addresses
from January 1, 2017, to present.
4. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to City Council Election from January 1, 2016 through December 31,
2017.
5. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Dave Emenhiser.
6. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Krista Johnson.
7. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Krista Johnson's House Fire.
8. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Planning Commission.
9. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Short-Term Rental.
10. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Short-Term Rental Advertising.
11. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to City Council.
12. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
related to Party Houses.
13. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Johnson.
B-4
14. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Emenhiser.
15. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Nelson.
16. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Sai.
17. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Tang.
18. All emails received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts
to and from Lewis.
19. All email received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts to
and from Mizuguchi.
20. All email received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts to
and from Trull.
21. All email received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts to
and from Hendrickson.
22. All email received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts to
and from Eric Mark.
23. All email received and sent by Mr. Campbell from all of his email accounts to
and from Siegel from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017.
B. All emails on Mr. Campbell’s personal electronic devices, responsive to Green Hills
Memorial Park’s December 4, 2017 CPRA request, requests nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6,
specifically:
1. All Communications from Mr. Campbell that reference Green Hills Memorial
Park.
2. All Communications to Mr. Campbell that reference Green Hills Memorial
Park.
5. All Communications between Brian Campbell and residents or owners of the
Vista Verde Condominiums, located at 2110 Palos Verdes Drive, Lomita, CA.
6. All Communications between Brian Campbell and Attorney Noel Weiss.
(See Attachment 2 for the original request.)
B-5
C. All emails on Mr. Campbell’s personal electronic devices, responsive to Ms. Tracy
Burns’ April 5, 2018 CPRA request, specifically:
All emails relating to City business received or sent by Mr. Campbell using any
and all personal electronic devices, from January 1, 2016 through December 5,
2017. (See Attachment 3 for the original request and clarifications thereto.)
D. All emails on Mr. Campbell’s personal electronic devices, responsive to Ms. Tracy
Burns’ April 6, 2018 CPRA request, specifically:
All emails received or sent to Jeffrey Lewis for the period between January 1,
2006 through December 31, 2007, using the following keywords: Green Hills,
GH, Vista Verde Homeowner’s Association, VVHOA, VV, setback, building.
(See Attachment 4 for the original request and clarifications thereto.)
B-6
ATTACHMENT 1 TO LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
CPRA REQUEST FROM MR. MICHAEL HUANG, DATED NOVEMBER 10, 2017
B-7
ATTACHMENT 2 TO LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
CPRA REQUEST FROM GREEN HILLS MEMORIAL PARK,
DATED DECEMBER 4, 2017
B-8
ATTACHMENT 3 TO LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
CPRA REQUEST FROM MS. TRACY BURNS, DATED APRIL 5, 2018
B-9
ATTACHMENT 4 TO LEGISLATIVE SUBPOENA
CPRA REQUEST FROM MS. TRACY BURNS, DATED APRIL 6, 2018
B-10