August 23, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.corn
Absconded level 3 sex of-
fender Jimi Lee Johnson was
arrested early in the morning
on Aug. 16 in downtown Shel-
ton.
Shelton Police officers ap-
prehended Johnson at about
pprehend level 3
7 a.m. Thursday morning at a
house a block away from the
Shelton Police Department.
Local law enforcement re-
ceived several 911 calls re-
porting Johnson's possible
whereabouts, which includ-
ed the Shelton area and the
Skokomish reservation.
Johnson has been required
to register as a sex offender
since pleading guilty to one
count of indecent liberties
and one county of first-degree
burglary in 2008.
According to authorities,
when Johnson was 17, in
2004, he broke into a home
and sexually assaulted a
21-year-old woman there.
While out on bond, Johnson
broke into another home and,
smelling of alcohol, walked
into the bedroom of a 17-year-
old girl, authorities said.
Deputy Bill Adam of the
Mason County Sheriffs Office
said Johnson was released
from prison after the burglary
charge in January 2011 after
serving about three years.
On Aug. 3, he failed to re-
port his location to the Wash-
er
Shelton
ington State Department of
Corrections (DOC) and a war-
rant was issued for his arrest.
Transient sex offenders in
Mason County are required
to report to the sheriffs of-
rice. When Johnson missed
his appointment on Aug. 6,
the sheriffs department be-
gan looking for him, Adam
said.
Jimi Lee
Johnson
pen governm
rum encourages in
Media members
among panelists
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natagie@rnaso~couT~b,,com
Local government lead-
ers, elected officials and
citizens had an opportu-
nity on Aug. 15 to speak
with authorities on state
and federal open meetings
and public records laws at
a forum at the Alderbrook
Resort.
The event was co-spon-
sored by the Washington
Coalition for Open Gov-
ernment and the Mason
County League of Women
Voters.
"We are a nonprofit, vol-
unteer organization. We
encourage informed and
active participation in gov-
ernment," said league Pres-
ident Amy Davis. "I can't
stress enough that this
mission enjoys a strong bi-
partisan support."
The forum was moderat-
ed by John Hughes, a long-
time Grays Harbor resident
and editor and publisher of
the Aberdeen Daily World.
"Your panel tonight ...
is about as good as it gets,"
Hughes said.
The panel of guest speak-
ers included Washington
State Archivist Jerry Han-
field, former Washington
State House Majority Lead-
er Lynn Kessler, Tacoma
News Tribune reporter
Sean Robinson and Tim
Ford, assistantattorney
general for government ac-
countability.
The members of the
panel referred on several
occasions to a passage of
the Washington state Con-
sitituion, which reads, "The
people of this state do not
yield their sovereignty to
the agencies which serve
them. The people, in dele-
gating authority, do not give
their public servants the
right to decide what is good
for the people to know and
what is not good for them to
know. The people insist on
Journa~ DllOIO D'~ Natal e Johnsor
Sean Robinson, a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune, spoke as part
of a panel at a forum on Aug. 15 at the Alderbrook Resort on open
meetings and public information.
remaining informed so they
maintain control over the
instruments that they have
created."
Robinson said this pas-
sage describes the power
public records give citizens
over their government.
"You don't give up your
power --the records belong
to you, so you get to look at
them," he said.
Ford, who described
himself as the state's open
government ombudsman,
began the panel's presenta-
tions by giving a brief over-
view of Washington's laws
related to public meetings
and open government.
He explained that public
records laws as we know
them, contained in Re-
vised Codes of Washington
(RCW) 40.12, 42.30 and
42.56, were initiated as a
part of campaign finance
reform in the 1970s.
Since the RCWs were
originally drafted, Ford
estimated as many as 400
individual exemptions had
been approved to the laws.
Between 2011 and 2012,
49 new exemptions were
proposed and 10 were
passed by the state Legis-
lature.
Ford explained that
there are fewer federal ex-
emptions to public records
laws, but they are drafted
very broadly.
"In Washington state
we try to draft exemptions
very narrowly," he said.
Both Ford and Kessler
are part of the 13-member
"sunshine committee," to
examine these new and old
exemptions and report back
to the Legislature on them.
"We can't review as
many exemptions as they
can create," he said.
Kessler talked about
the need to broaden public
records laws to include re-
cords pertaining to execu-
tive session, or closed-door
meetings conducted to talk
about matters exempted
from the open public meet-
ings act, such as person-
nel matters or real-estate
transactions.
She said a proposal to
make such records public,
specifically, to require tape
recordings to be made of ex-
ecutive session meetings,
was ultimately unsuccess-
ful and met with resistance
in the state House.
"Why are you making
it look like you're behind
closed doors breaking the
laws?" she asked.
Several of the panelists,
including Hanfield, said
a lack of education about
record-keeping practices
leads to many, violations of
public records laws.
Hanfield also spoke
about how public records
help hold government ac-
countable and prevent
fraud.
"You can't just destroy
records because you want
to," he said. "They have a
purpose."
Washington is: the first
state in the country to offer
online audio archives. It is
also a leader in digital ar-
chives, Hanfield said.
Hanfield said opponents
of digital archiving say on-
line records make identity
theft easier. In reality, he
said identity theft has de-
clined 4.3 percent since the
state began digitizing ar-
chives in 2004.
"The reason why we have
public records available to
everyone is they preven~
fraud." he said.
After the panelists
spoke, members of the au-
dience had the opportunity
to ask questions and voice
their concerns about public
records laws. Several asked
for advice about how to pro-
ceed with requests more ef-
fectively.
"You have to actually ask
for them, you have to know
what you're asking for,"
Robinson said.
Robinson als0 recom-
mended being patient and
polite to anyone in charge
of public records and put all
requests in paper.
"Part of the obligation
for you is to push," he said.
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Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 - Page A-5