I absolutely believe that many @cityofseattle departments and the mayor's office are overburdened by records requests, as they have repeatedly claimed. I have filed many times more requests during the Durkan administration, for one simple reason:

Unlike previous administrations, in which a reporter could call a departmental media person (or the mayor's office), ask a question, and usually get an answer, this mayor's office has put up a number of significant roadblocks between reporters and the departments.

This may not be the case for favored reporters, but for me, everything about dealing with the executive branch changed dramatically when Durkan was elected. Suddenly, every single question had to be routed through the mayor's office.

"How many parks department toilets are open?" Mayor's office. "Can the Human Services Department explain these two specific contract delays?" Mayor's office. "Can the transportation department tell me why they put up this bollard in this location?" Mayor's office.

A couple of months into the administration, I got a call from a media relations person who had been at the city for decades. They told me they were taking early retirement because they could no longer do their job and didn't like giving reporters the absolute runaround.

Anyway, sometimes this process gets answers, but usually it doesn't. ("We will have information on that when we have information on that" is often the gist.) Or I'm told, "You're going to have to file a records request for that." Cue months of waiting.

So in conclusion, while I feel for the people who actually have to fulfill these requests‚ many of whom are career public servants, the problem comes from the top. I hope the next mayor will appreciate the role of the press instead of thinking of us as the problem.