BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners have approved a resolution urging the Florida Legislature to provide a public records exemption protecting the personal information of municipal clerks and employees who perform election work.
“This is being asked of all the cities to adopt by the Institute of Municipal Clerks,” City Clerk Terri Sanclemente said at a Feb. 20 city commission meeting. “There have been too many attacks on clerks and others who have to deal with elections. And that is why they’re asking each city in Florida to adopt this resolution so that they can take it to the Legislature and ask for changes.”
Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce clarified that the exemption protects clerks’ personal information such as addresses and telephone numbers.
“Public officials are very often attacked and they’re attacked at their homes and this protects them, their home, their children and family members from being physically attacked and emotionally attacked and harassed,” Scaccianoce said. “Just like police officers and firemen. They just want to add clerks to that and election workers.”
The resolution will go into effect if the Legislature passes a parallel law.
During public comment, Elayne Armaniaco asked for confirmation that this resolution will not impede public records access, but is about personal information only.
Mayor John Chappie confirmed that is the case.
“That resolution is a template that came from the Institute of Municipal Clerks, that is not something that I created, that is something that was passed around to the municipal clerks in the state of Florida,” Sanclemente said.
A motion to approve a public records exemption for municipal clerks and employees regarding election work was passed unanimously by the city commission.
