Public records: Empowering average citizens like me

Re: “Court: State public records law applies to legislators,” (TNT, 12/20).

I am very grateful that our state supports public records requests. I am not a big-time developer, nor do I have a title of power or prestige. But I do have my voice, a strong intuition and access to public records.

One never knows when they will come in handy.

For me, when I decided to build a house, I followed all the rules the planning department required and after a year was issued a building permit, only to have it revoked six weeks later.

My gut told me the decision seemed off. So I requested public records, which showed the timeline of how the decision was made.

My gut was right; it turns out my permit was revoked inappropriately. I had all the texts, emails and notes of city employees in black and white to show it.

This is my home, my haven, my fortress. It felt like a violation to the core.

I hired an attorney to fight it, and the permit was eventually granted late last year.

This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Public records: Empowering average citizens like me."