Christina Jedra

The News Journal

Wilmington City Councilman Samuel L. Guy has filed a petition with the Attorney General's Office claiming that his council colleagues broke the law when they publicly condemned him earlier this month.

Guy alleges that City Council members engaged in "stealthy manipulation" and violated the Freedom of Information Act in the process of creating a resolution introduced on April 6 to censure him. The censure was a public show of disapproval in response to language from Guy that his colleagues found "abusive, berating, degrading and threatening." It passed 8-5.

In a 64-page document filed with Attorney General Matt Denn's office on Friday, Guy expressed frustration that the resolution to publicly criticize him was added to the council agenda just hours before the meeting. Guy claimed the late notice could be an FOIA violation and deprived the public of a chance to attend the meeting to comment on the proposed censure. A draft agenda available the day before did not list the resolution pertaining to the censure.

"City Council cannot claim, in good faith, that the resolution agenda item was not known in time to be timely shared with the public," he wrote.

Guy argued that the resolution's eight sponsors constitute a quorum, enough members to require a public meeting. He states that those sponsors violated FOIA if they met together without giving public notice, although he provides no evidence that such a meeting occurred.

"Clearly the sponsor or someone on behalf of the sponsor engaged in communications, meetings, or informal decision-making outside of the public's view in order to obtain over a quorum of sponsors," he wrote.

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In his petition, written on City Council letterhead, the at-large councilman took specific aim at City Council President Hanifa Shabazz, alleging she acts "unilaterally."

"Wilmington City Council is poised to be investigated for corruption because this arrangement allows for one person, the President, to be influenced and no legislation that she opposes will be put on the agenda," Guy wrote. "Legislation that she supports finds its way to the agenda."

Shabazz did not respond to a request for comment.

Guy, who is an attorney, requested an investigation of his allegations and FOIA training for City Council, council staff, the city Law Department, the Mayor's Office, department heads and some city employees.

He also wrote that the council should issue a public notification that "the Resolution approved on April 6, 2017, occurred in violation of FOIA and is void."

Guy, who sent his letter to a mass email list of journalists and public officials Monday night, did not respond to a request for comment.

Carl Kanefsky, a spokesman for Denn's office, couldn't yet say if the attorney general would pursue action in Guy's recent petition or an earlier FOIA-related complaint about City Council leadership meetings.

"DOJ has received two complaints from Councilman Guy and they will be reviewed and answered as part of DOJ’s responsibility, assigned in state law, of determining whether public bodies have complied with FOIA," he said in an email.

A censure is an expression of public show of criticism. The censure should not be confused with censorship, or a suppression of speech, Shabazz said at the last meeting. Contrary to the belief of some residents, who have expressed concern about First Amendment violations, it does not affect Guy's ability to express himself.

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.