Mayor raises concerns about Asson's actions

Over the past several weeks, re-elected city councilor David Asson has released to the public communications that were supposed to be internal city council communications. At a council workshop Thursday, Mayor Chris Frye expressed his concerns about Asson's actions.

"My hope is that some of these were done in the goal of being transparent," said Frye. "It's a big focus for us going forward. But I think there's a line that you can go too far ... where the respect of your other councilors and the trust of the other councilors can be crossed. And in these instances I think you went too far."

Frye detailed three actions of concern:

In writing the city council's letter to the citizens of Sisters, published as an ad in The Nugget, Asson revealed information and discussions conducted in the executive session regarding City Manager Andrew Gorayeb's annual performance review. Asson's letter was ultimately not published.

Executive sessions are closed sessions, usually focused on personnel or legal matters. Media is allowed to attend, but not to report on discussions conducted in executive session. There is no specific sanction for breaking executive session, although if it involves litigation, there can be potential personal liability.

In a separate instance, the council was given access to work materials on the city's new website and the opportunity to give input. The website was (and remains) a work in progress and contained many placeholders. It was not considered ready for public dissemination and, Frye noted, it was made clear that the draft was for city staff and "council eyes only." Asson disseminated the work to members of the public, an action which several councilors thought inappropriate.

The action Frye said he considered most serious involved disseminating a document that Frye and other city officials considered attorney-client privileged. At Asson's request and with the council's agreement, City Attorney Steve Bryant provided a letter answering several specific questions regarding city approval of siting food carts at a downtown Sisters business.

The letter was labeled: "Via Email Only to City Council Members and City Manager." When The Nugget requested a copy of the letter, the city recorder told the paper that the communication was attorney-client privileged and could not be released before the Thursday workshop.

Asson provided a copy of the letter to Mike Morgan in advance of the meeting. At the meeting, the councilors officially agreed to make the letter public.

Frye took issue with Asson releasing what was considered privileged information on his own initiative.

"It was kind of the decision of this council to decide whether to make it public," he said. "I have no problem with the letter being public." (Click here to view a PDF of the letter.)

Asson made no response to Frye's concerns at the workshop. He responded to a request for comment from The Nugget via email. Regarding the attorney's letter, Asson wrote the following:

"Given the extensive communications circulating about the food cart issue, I requested that counsel prepare a written opinion to guide our next session... I released his opinion to Mr. Morgan without comment but hoped that it would add clarity to the discourse. This is a serious matter and we do not need to add another lawsuit to the three already pending. I want to get the matter discussed by all parties, not just those inside City Hall and their supporters.

"As part of Mayor Frye's remarks, he justified his censure of me on this point stating Mr. Bryant made known that his response was attorney-client privileged. He attributed the phrase "Via Email Only to City Council Member and City Manager" as reasoning. Oddly, in the same session, a head nod assured that the opinion should be made public. This is not a good beginning to the often promised more transparent administration.

"I savor my right to inform interested readers and will continue the practice."

(See sidebar for the full text of Councilor Asson's response.)

For Frye, the issue revolves around how councilors work together.

"To work together cooperatively, which is of the utmost importance, we have to have trust and mutual respect for each other," he said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
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