Palo Alto California’s Mayor Dena Mossar announced a settlement of lawsuits brought against the City Council by The Palo Alto Weekly and the San Jose Mercury News concerning e-mail correspondence that was not disclosed to the public.
The Council held a closed door meeting on October 30, 2002 during which time they disseminated e-mail concerning what they determined was a private issue.
The Council has now released all the e-mails, and in a futher move, “will make available copies of e-mails from September 1 to the present time, sent by Council Members to staff and staff responses concerning items on the council agenda.” The San Diego Union heralded the Council as “a trailblazer in open governance.”