A judge has ruled that Saratoga Springs’ Account Commissioner deliberately withheld public information.
City Court Judge Jeff Wait convicted Dillon Moran Friday morning, ruling the Democratic council member willfully and knowingly concealed public information when he failed to properly respond to Freedom of Information Law requests.
“The evidence shows he was told by the city’s Freedom of Information officer and by the assistant city attorney that text messages concerning city business were subject to disclosure and that this was true even if they were recorded on a personal device. In this regard the evidence demonstrates Commissioner Moran had a second telephone for the very purpose of concealing reviewable records,” said Wait.
The ruling came in a case stemming from three FOIL requests made by City GOP Committee Chair Mike Brandi last spring. Brandi sought texts, emails, and social media messages from Moran, and Moran subsequently returned certifications that the requested records did not exist.
During this week's trial, former city FOIL officer Robin McFee testified that Moran told her that his personal phone was not subject to FOIL and that he wouldn’t hand the messages over unless ordered to do so by a court.
Moran’s attorney, Ben Hill, spoke to the press following Friday's ruling.
“We think that there are numerous, fundamental legal issues inherent in this prosecution. Some of which I mentioned in my closing. This is a prosecution that has never been brought before. There’s many things about this statute that have to be considered on appeal. More fundamentally I don’t think Dillon Moran has never tried to hide anything from anybody. He’s, as I said, very outspoken, his positions are out there,” said Hill.
Judge Wait ordered Moran to pay a $660 fine, though Moran said he plans to appeal the ruling.
Over the course of the week, Hill argued the messages requested by Brandi were not subject to FOIL – that they were inconsequential or protected by FOIL exemptions or attorney-client privilege.
Hill also posited that these charges were politically motivated.
The case is part of a larger set of actions the city's GOP leader has taken against political opponents. For instance, Brandi has sued the city to stop the payments of Moran’s previous legal bills, and Brandi recently filed a county ethics complaint against City Supervisor Michele Madigan, who is set to challenge Republican Mayor John Safford in November.
Brandi also took the stand this week and said he knew the messages he had requested through FOIL existed because he had received them from other witnesses in the trial. Moran had to turn over the messages, which were primarily about the city's much-discussed short-term rental regulations, as part of the legal proceedings.
In a statement Friday, Brandi said Moran’s actions had been calculated to obstruct transparency, saying, “FOIL is about protecting the people’s right to know. Moran trampled that right, and Saratoga Springs deserves far better from its leaders.”
