OUTRAGEOUS! Fredericksburg Mayor Bill Beck and Councilmen Scott Howson and Matt Kelly have all been found guilty of violating Virginia’s FOIA in e-mail coversations held during the summer! Now I can understand from a jurisprudence perspective that such a ruling is necessary to maintain the spirit of the law. But were these guys really guilty of breaking the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act? The entire conversation was centered around how to prevent future FOIA abuses from the former City Council.

Don’t get me wrong – I still stand by my past op-ed in the Free Lance-Star, but for the life of me I can’t see the justice in this. The lawsuit is frivolous, and a complete abuse of the FOIA.

Regardless of how disgusted I am that Beck, Howson, and Kelly were found guilty, the case for open and honest government indeed took one more step today. I can still think of no greater supporters of this than those convicted.