To the editor:

Under U.S. law, citizens have the right to request copies of documents from governmental agencies that are part of the public record. In selected situations, mostly related to security issues, copies of documents may be withheld from public knowledge.

As a resident, taxpayer and commissioner of Diking District No. 1 (DD1), I have been trying for months to obtain a copy of the fourth easement that was prepared by DD1 lawyer Mr. Scott Ellerby, as part of the transaction between the Eva Mae Gabelein estate and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.

Mr. Ellerby billed for his legal work on this fourth easement and was paid for this work out of DD1 public tax dollars. Despite several requests, Mr. Ellerby has refused to identify and provide me with a copy of this easement.

Because of his refusal, I submitted a written request for a copy of this easement to DD1 Commissioners Ray Gabelein and Steve Arnold on Nov. 18, 2009.

Despite three subsequent written requests and one direct verbal request at the Dec. 3 meeting of DD1, I have still not received the information to which I and my constituents, residents and taxpayers of DD1, are legally entitled.

This leads us to ask, why the shroud of secrecy? What is in the fourth easement that we are not supposed to know?

John Shepard

Clinton