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Group sues Jacobs, accuses her of violating records law [Orlando Sentinel](Orlando Sentinel (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 26--A citizens group that successfully sued Mayor Teresa Jacobs and other Orange County leaders last year related to the so-called "textgate" scandal, filed a new lawsuit this morning that again accuses the mayor of violating Florida's public records law. Jacobs calls the accusations "totally false." In the current case, Organize Now says the mayor is refusing to give the group access to public documents -- related to four charter amendments on the November ballot -- that are in a cloud-based account called Dropbox. "We want to know who has access to the mayor's Dropbox files, and what are its contents," said Stephanie Porta, executive director of Organize Now, as she stood outside the Orange County Courthouse moments after filing the lawsuit. Jacobs angrily blasted the group's claims calling them "baseless" and "lies" just hours after the lawsuit was filed. "These accusations that have been levied are totally false," Jacobs said. "We are prepared to defend this lawsuit, and we will win this lawsuit." According to the lawsuit filed in circuit court, Jacobs and the county staff established an account via Dropbox, which serves as an electronic file-sharing and storage system. When members of Organize Now learned of the Dropbox account several months ago, they sent a public records request to the county asking to see the contents of the account. But according to Organize Now, county staff changed the passwords for the Dropbox account and removed several documents. The group then filed a second public records request on Sept. 10, and a day later the county sent the group a log listing who accessed the account but with much of the information redacted. Jacobs said county staff often place various documents in the Dropbox account -- including drafts of speeches, notes, news clippings and scheduling items -- before moving them into network drives on the county's computer system. She pointed out that anyone from the public -- including members of Organize Now -- can request the items as long as they are not exempt from Florida's public records laws. "Dropboxes are places where we put things temporarily" before moving them into various computer drives, Jacobs said. She added that the Dropbox passwords are often changed to prevent former county employees from accessing the account. The county has two employees who act as administrators for the Dropbox account. Eighteen county workers also have access to that Dropbox. County staff said Organize Now has made 13 public records requests regarding Dropbox within the past three weeks. "Orange County has spent an extensive amount of staff time and resources trying to satisfy the requests of Organize Now, including personal meetings and detailed technology research," said Ann Marie Varga, the county's communications manager. Porta said her group is specifically seeking information about who has met with county staff regarding four Orange County charter amendments. "It's important for the public to know who is pushing for this," Porta said. But Jacobs said the lawsuit is a politically motivated attempt to win approval for a charter amendment that would make county races partisan. Jacobs opposes the amendment. "This is nothing more than a politically motivated attack," Jacobs said regarding the lawsuit. "They're lying to you. They're lying to the press." Last January, Orange County leaders settled a "textgate" civil lawsuit and agreed to pay $90,000 to Citizens for a Greater Orange County, a coalition of groups, including Porta's group. Citizens had led a fight for a paid-sick-time referendum opposed by county officials and local tourism interests. In late 2012, the group sued Orange County saying Orange County commissioners, including Jacobs, broke the law when they deleted text messages with lobbyists and others regarding the paid-sick-time referendum. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton conducted a criminal probe and determined that Jacobs and four commissioners violated state law when they deleted the messages that were public records. Eventually, Jacobs and commissioners Scott Boyd, Fred Brummer, Jennifer Thompson and John Martinez each agreed to pay a $500 civil fine. Their lawyers said the payment was no admission of wrong doing. [email protected] or 407-420-5718 ___ (c)2014 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |