Dear North Brunswick Township,

Under N.J.S. § 19:13-11, I am requesting complete copies of all petitions filed with your office by candidates for government offices (not political party positions) in the June 4 primary election.

I require these records as soon as possible and I prefer to receive the response to this request via email, in one or more .pdf attachments. Please contact me promptly here or at 732-993-9697 if you have any questions about this request, or if you would like to make alternate arrangements for me to inspect the petitions.

Yours faithfully,

Charlie Kratovil

Dear Ms. Sowell,

Thanks for the records, but I'm not clear on why there have been redactions to the petitions provided. No explanation was given for the redactions. Please provide unredacted copies for my inspection per N.J.S. § 19:13-9. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Charlie Kratovil

Dear Ms. Sowell,

Respectfully, please be advised that my request was made pursuant to N.J.S. § 19:13-9, which states the petitions "shall be open under proper regulations for public inspection." I am attempting to exercise my statutory right to inspect the petitions. I am asking your office to please reconsider your decision to alter the petitions, and provide complete copies for my inspection, in accordance with Title 19. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Charlie Kratovil

Dear North Brunswick Township Clerk's Office,

At this point, I believe you are effectively refusing to comply with my request to inspect the petitions for candidates who are presently running for government offices, in violation of New Jersey statutes.

I requested "complete copies" of these public records, but your response provided only altered/redacted copies that obscure critical information. It's a pity that government resources were wasted on redacting this information, such as the email addresses of the candidates, and the house numbers of the signers. This information, in the context of a candidate petition, has always been a matter of public record, and has always been open to public inspection. When asked why this information was redacted, the response from your office was: "personal identifies and are not releasable under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1." This explanation literally and legally does not make sense and is likely the result of a typographical error.

A reconsideration request was not responded to, leaving only the nonsense, unsatisfactory explanation for the redactions. I'll note that your altered/redacted response to my request set North Brunswick apart in Middlesex County, where every other municipality holding Council elections provided complete copies of all candidate petitions in response to identical requests.

While my request was originally made pursuant to a different statute, I am now also formally requesting the records pursuant to the OPRA (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.). I urge you to reconsider your decision to redact public information from these public records, and provide complete, unredacted copies of all Council petitions forthwith. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Charlie Kratovil