Guest opinion: A citizen’s right of access to public records must be taken seriously

On October 15, 2020, Regina Dayton did something people all over Florida do every day: she made a public record request.

Specifically, Ms. Dayton asked the Marco Island City Clerk for a white paper regarding a citizen’s right to free speech and the right of citizens to address their elected representatives. Dayton made the request after Councilman Howard Reed stated at a public meeting that he had emailed the white paper to the City Attorney in September. The City Clerk initially responded to Dayton’s public record request by saying that the City Attorney had not received the white paper despite Councilman Reed’s statement to the contrary. Dayton persisted and her public record request was referred to the City Attorney.

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