Misplaced privacy concerns

By Dan Kennedy

An order requiring the town of Nantucket to release documents related to the termination of a high-ranking employee illustrates an all-too-common flaw in the argument that an individual’s privacy needs to be protected. In many cases, local officials, not the individual, are the ones who are trying to avoid disclosure.

The Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror interviews Linda Williams, who was fired last year from her post as the $85,000-a-year administrator of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Williams and the town reached a “confidential” severence agreement some months ago. The Inquirer and Mirror filed a complaint under the state’s public-records law (PDF) And, on Monday, the state Division of Public Records ordered that the agreement be made public.

In defending the town’s actions, town manager Libby Gibson said