Journalist Sues City Over Closed-Door Briefings

A Midtown resident and journalist is suing the city of Atlanta and seven of the 16 members of City Council. 

Matthew Cardinale, editor of Atlanta Progressive News, last week filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court that alleges the city and some council members are violating the Georgia Open Meetings Act by holding closed-door briefings before committee meetings.

The City Council is broken into seven committees, such as transportation and public safety. The committees, which meet every two weeks, discuss and vote on matters such as ordinances and resolutions before they go to the full council for final approval.

Cardinale said briefings held before committee meetings are not open to the public. "This practice has been going on for years and years," Cardinale said.

He argues in his lawsuit that those briefings should be open to the public and advertised as meetings, whether or not there is a quorum of council members. 

"We are fighting for the right to speak and participate," he said. Cardinale said controversial topics such as the Atlanta Eagle raid were discussed in committee briefings. He added that council members often will refer to briefings during committee meetings. 

"We don't know what they are discussing," he said. "If they have nothing to hide, then open it up."

The lawsuit names the seven council members who head the council's seven committees: Yolanda Adrean, Natalyn Archibong, C.T. Martin, Felicia Moore, Joyce Sheperd, Aaron Watson and Ivory Lee Young. It also names eight Jane and John Does. Cardinale said those names represent city officials that may be involved in the closed-door briefings, such as city attorneys and council staff. 

Cardinale wants a judge to stop the closed-door briefings and seeks criminal penalties for the defendants named in the lawsuit. 

Dexter Chambers, spokesman for the Atlanta City Council, said he could not comment on pending litigation. 

"I'm prepared to go all the way to the top," Cardinale said. Cardinale is representing himself in the lawsuit. But on Monday, he said he met with officials from the Georgia Attorney General's office about the lawsuit. 

"We are reviewing the case," said Lauren Kane with the Attorney General's office.

Cardinale is no stranger to protesting the actions of the City Council. 

He frequents City Council meetings, often singing or rapping his complaints during the public comment portion of the meeting. At the beginning of May, he performed "Didn't we almost have a quorum" to the City Council, a piece he wrote to the tune of the Whitney Houston song "Didn't we almost have it all."

"When I sing and rap, you can hear a pin drop," Cardinale said. "You know they are listening to every word ... They are paying more attention and it amuses me to no end."

Cardinale also filed a lawsuit against the city last May. That lawsuit alleges that the City Council participated in a secret vote over the issue of limiting public comment during their council retreat in February 2010. The suit was dismissed in Fulton County Superior Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals, but Cardinale currently is appealing the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.