Published: August 08, 2006 10:47 pm      

Nees’ victory recognized with Sunshine Award

The 17-year-old was among three winners

Ryan Nees, the 17-year-old Western High School student whose open records request culminated in a lawsuit victory over Kokomo City Hall, has had his tenacity recognized on a national level.

Nees is one of three individuals who will receive national Sunshine Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Aug. 26 during a banquet at the 2006 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference, SPJ officials announced Tuesday.

Three Indiana-based open government advocacy groups nominated Nees for the award, “based on his youth, tenacity, understanding of the law, and his courage in the pursuit of public records.”

The city of Kokomo spent more than $34,000 unsuccessfully fighting Nees’ request for a list of city-compiled e-mail addresses.

Dozens of residents provided their e-mail addresses when they signed up for a free, electronic city newsletter.

Nees, however, became suspicious that administration officials also were using those addresses to send out Mayor Matt McKillip’s campaign messages.

The mayor denied that contention.

Nees and administration officials agreed the list would be public. The two sides disagreed, however, as to whether Nees was entitled to a copy of the subscribers list.

The judge in the case said the law governing access to government-compiled mailing lists doesn’t extend to e-mail addresses, as the city’s attorneys contended. She said the city must turn over either a hardcopy or an electronic copy of the list.

“Ryan found an attorney to take the case pro-bono after researching the law and securing a favorable opinion from the Public Access Counselor,” stated the nomination letter for Nees. “He also became part of the mayor’s newsletter, dubbed a ‘youthful political operative’ with questionable motives — as the city administration tried to explain away the lawsuit and its non-disclosure of public records by scaring up privacy concerns.”

“I think [the award] reinforced what I’ve been saying all along,” Nees said Tuesday. “This is an open government issue, this is an honest government issue ... it’s a vindication of all the work I put into this lawsuit and the idea of open government.”

Nees was jointly nominated by SPJ State Sunshine Chair Kyle Elyse Niederpruem, SPJ Indiana Professional Chapter Immediate Past President Kevin Finch, Steve Key, general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, and Marian Pearcy, immediate past president of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government.

“It’s unusual for someone his age to be that involved in the first place, and to know how to push the right buttons to get access to records,” Niederpruem said Tuesday.

Nancy Conway, editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, and John Hughes, executive editor of the Deseret Morning News, will also receive Sunshine Awards this year for forming a coalition to lobby for expanded public access in Utah.

Both editors worked to prevent the Utah Legislature from watering down the state’s Government Records Access and Management Act.

Despite Nees’ win in Howard Circuit Court, the effect of Judge Lynn Murray’s decision was short-lived. The Indiana General Assembly quickly passed a bill that allows government to withhold lists of government-compiled e-mail addresses from the public.

State Sen. Jeff Drozda, R-Westfield, sponsored the legislation, claiming the privacy of e-mail addresses was of paramount importance.

“It’s a shame that the rest of us Hoosiers got shut down thanks to our Legislature,” Niederpruem said. “A lot of times when regular citizens take on an issue, it’s easy to turn them down based on other alleged principles.”

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com