The City of Paso Robles is suing current sitting Councilmember Chris Bausch to get him to turn over public records.
The lawsuit comes after The San Luis Obispo Tribune sued the city for withholding records that shed light on Bausch’s dealings with a former city manager.
City Attorney Elizabeth Hull told KCBX in a written statement that the city provided all non-exempt documents, but not those on Bausch’s personal devices. She said his refusal to turn them over prevented the city from fulfilling The Tribune’s request, which led to the newspaper’s lawsuit.
Now, the city is asking a judge to force Bausch to comply with the California Public Records Act. Bausch, in turn, has filed a complaint against the city for failing to provide him with legal representation.
Karl Olson, the Tribune's attorney, said the city suing one of its own councilmembers is an unusual thing to happen.
“I think perhaps the city felt the same way that we did, which is the only way to get this guy to turn anything over is to sue him,” Olson said.
Olson said while the Tribune and the city share the same goals, there are a couple differences in their filings.
“The city wants to be able to review all the stuff on his phone before it gets turned over to us, and I don't think that's necessary, but the main thing, as far as we're concerned, is the records on his phone to be turned over,” Olson said.
KCBX reached out to Bausch for comment. He responded with an automatic email saying he’s working on multiple records requests and is out of the office until June.
A case management conference is scheduled next week.
