Withholding public records costs Port of Tacoma $159,000

The Port of Tacoma violated the state Public Records Act last year, acted in bad faith and showed gross negligence during the process, according to a decision handed down this week by Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson.

The price of that failure: $159,000, including the maximum penalty — $100 per day — for withholding three pages of records from activist Arthur West for 410 days.

“The Port’s intransigence warrants a penalty that will deter future malfeasance,” Cuthbertson wrote.

Port officials are considering an appeal. Read more…