Pasco
Zephyrhills man wages public records campaign
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Published: July 8, 2011
Updated: 07/08/2011 09:39 am
ZEPHYRHILLS - Robert Chandler wants the city to know one thing: He's just getting started.
This year, Chandler filed his first lawsuit against Zephyrhills, challenging how much it charged for a city-produced book titled "Zephyrhills From A to Z," which was being sold for about $32. He argued the book is a public record and, therefore, it is unlawful for the city to charge more than the cost of publication – about $18.
City council members have agreed to lower the price, discontinue charging sales tax and pay about $4,000 to cover Chandler's legal fees. A settlement is pending.
Regardless of the case's resolution, Chandler said he will sue again – and again – if that's what it takes to achieve his ultimate goal.
"I would like to see Zephyrhills become a role model for public meetings and public records," the 29-year-old city resident said.
He won't wage such a campaign on his own.
His brother, Joel, is a self-described public records advocate who first made a name for himself in 2008 by suing the Polk County School Board. He won that case, allowing him access to the names, phone numbers, addresses and dependents' names of nearly 13,000 employees who were receiving health care through the school district.
With that victory, Joel Chandler, 47, of Lakeland, was hooked. Making public records requests, and litigating when he is unlawfully denied, now occupies much of his time. His efforts have pitted him against police departments, medical examiners and state agencies, just to name a few.
In 2010, Robert Chandler jumped on the cause after requesting public records from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
"I requested a CD of licensing information for fishermen," said Chandler, who co-owns a charter fishing booking service. "They told me it would be $450."
The brothers protested, eventually getting the information for free. The commission changed its policy, making the CD free for anyone who requests it.
"It feels good knowing one person can get a government agency to do the right thing," said Robert Chandler, a Zephyrhills High School graduate and former Marine.
Together, the Chandlers regularly audit government agencies and private contractors that do business with the government. Many times, their public records requests are for random, innocuous information. If they are denied and believe they will win, they sue – not always, but often.
They have filed 30 to 40 lawsuits, all but three of which have settled.
"We've never lost a case," Robert Chandler said.
Some battles come to them.
In February, the brothers sued the Florida Department of Transportation and others in federal court after they were detained by toll booth operators while trying to pay tolls with large bills. The operators noted the make, model and tag number of their cars and sometimes other personal information.
It's a policy meant to fight counterfeiting, but the Chandlers say the practice violates motorists' constitutional rights because they are unwillingly detained and forced to share personal information.
The defendants' motions to dismiss the lawsuit were denied, but the case is on hold pending an appeal of the dismissal ruling.
"Feedback hasn't always been positive, but under closer examination of the facts, they generally see my point," he said.
The brothers say no one who knew their father, William, a once-prominent Zephyrhills physician who died in 2008, should be surprised by their public records campaign.
"He had a genuine distrust of government. He believed that all men are depraved and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Joel Chandler said.
"He was very interested in government accountability," he said.
"The acorn didn't fall far from the tree."
But some who knew William Chandler well disagree and say they're surprised by his sons' proclivity for litigation.
"I think he would be totally appalled," said Glenna Courtney, city clerk assistant for the city of Zephyrhills and a longtime patient of the elder Chandler.
Charlotte Perrault, the doctor's longtime secretary, said her former boss sought accountability in government but wouldn't have taken it to the lengths his sons have pursued.
"Dr. Chandler wouldn't fear calling someone or trying to get the truth. He was definitely an advocate for truth in government," she said.
"Do I think he would have been one to expose government scandal? No, not necessarily."
Robert Chandler agreed, saying his father "had a big bark and a weak fight."
"I think Joel and I have just the opposite."
Joel Chandler said the city of Zephyrhills has quite an opponent in his brother.
"He's very even-tempered and not easily flustered. He's extraordinarily analytical and has an extremely high IQ," he said. "He very often catches things I don't in reviewing contracts. He's very perceptive and he thinks outside the box."
City Manager Jim Drumm said there are plenty of opportunities to resolve public records issues before filing a lawsuit. He hopes Robert Chandler keeps that in mind.
"If he has an experience and feels records haven't been available, I hope he would come in and vent," Drumm said. "If there's a citizen who has ideas on how to improve that process, I would like to hear from them."
(813) 259-8170
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