Dear New Brunswick City,

Under the OPRA, the common law right of access, and N.J.S. § 19:13-11, I am requesting complete copies of all petitions filed with your office for candidates in the June 6, 2023 primary election. I am a candidate for office, and due to the tight timeline of the election, I require these records as soon as possible. I prefer to receive the response to this request via email, in one or more .pdf attachments. Please contact me promptly if you have any questions about this request, or if you would like to make alternate arrangements for me to inspect the petitions.

Thank you,

Charlie Kratovil
732-993-9697

Dear Ms. Zeledon,

I am pleased that you decided to read the law that your office was using as a justification to withhold public records from the public. Unfortunately some of your message to me doesn't make sense: "Until I gained a complete understanding of what can be released, the petition would be released as required by law." The petitions were not and still have not been released despite multiple, repeated requests.

Now that you've read the law, and confirmed my interpretation that redactions would in fact be illegal and unjustified, why haven't you provided the records to me? What is the purpose of your ongoing review? What exactly are you reviewing that prevents you from allowing the public to inspect the petitions?

Another law you might want to read is N.J. Stat. § 19:13-9 (Filing of petitions, time). I'll quote the relevant section for you: "All petitions when filed shall be open under proper regulations for public inspection."

If you do not provide the records today, I will have no choice but to file civil litigation against you and to seek your removal as Clerk. Provide the records immediately.

Sincerely,

Charlie Kratovil