Councilman Michael Vieira Facebook Account
Dear Livingston Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
1. A complete log of all activity including, but not limited to, “search” activity on the “Councilman Michael Vieira” official Facebook account from January 23, 2024 to July 8, 2024. This log should be provided as time stamped screenshots, in electronic format and in chronological order.
2. A record of all posts and/or comments that have been deleted from Councilman Vieira’s official Facebook account during this same period, including the content of those posts and/or comments and the dates they were posted and deleted.
3. A list of all users who have been blocked from viewing or interacting with Councilman Vieira's official Facebook account, including the dates when they were blocked and any recorded reasons for the blocking. If any user has been unblocked during this time, please provide the dates of the unblocking.
4. Any policies or guidelines that govern the Councilman's use of social media for official town business.
5. Any records of communication between Councilman Vieira and other town officials regarding the management of his official Facebook account, including discussions about post deletions or user blocking.
If any portion of this request is denied, please provide a written statement of the grounds for denial, citing the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Concerned Livingston Residents,
Please see the responses below for the OPRA and Common Law record request
received on July 11, 2024. Answers are in bold. You requested:
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law
right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please
acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
1. A complete log of all activity including, but not limited to, "search"
activity on the "Councilman Michael Vieira" official Facebook account from
January 23, 2024 to July 8, 2024. This log should be provided as time
stamped screenshots, in electronic format and in chronological order.
Please be advised that there are no responsive government records to this
request, the referenced Facebook account is not a Township administrated
account.
2. A record of all posts and/or comments that have been deleted from
Councilman Vieira's official Facebook account during this same period,
including the content of those posts and/or comments and the dates they
were posted and deleted.
Please refer to the response to item #1 of your request.
3. A list of all users who have been blocked from viewing or interacting
with Councilman Vieira's official Facebook account, including the dates
when they were blocked and any recorded reasons for the blocking. If any
user has been unblocked during this time, please provide the dates of the
unblocking.
Please refer to the response to item #1 of your request.
4. Any policies or guidelines that govern the Councilman's use of social
media for official town business.
Please be advised that there are no responsive government records to this
request.
5. Any records of communication between Councilman Vieira and other town
officials regarding the management of his official Facebook account,
including discussions about post deletions or user blocking.
This request is considered to be overly broad. Please clarify what form(s)
of records of communication and the names and/or titles of the town
officials in order for a records search to be conducted. Per Elcavage v.
West Milford Twp. (Passaic), GRC Complaint No. 2009-07 (April 2010): The
Government Records Council held that “an OPRA request for an e-mail or
e-mails shall therefore focus upon the following four (4) characteristics:
Content and/ or subject, specific date or range of dates, sender, and
recipient. In accord with MAG, supra, and its progeny in order to
specifically identify an e-mail, OPRA requests must contain: (1) the
content and/or subject of the e-mail, (2) the specific date range or range
of dates during which the e-mail was transmitted and (3) a valid e-mail
request identify the sender and/or the recipient thereof.: ID. At 5. See
also Armenti v. Robbinsville Bd. Of Educ. (Mercer), GRC Complaint No.
2009-154 (Interim Order dated May 24, 2011) (applying the Elcavage,
factors to other forms of written correspondence).
If this office does not receive clarification on item #5 of your request
within seven business days, by July 24, this request will be considered
closed.
Sincerely,
Dear Livingston Township,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Livingston Township's handling of my OPRA request 'Councilman Michael Vieira Facebook Account'.
I respectfully disagree with your determination that there are no responsive government records to this OPRA request regarding Councilman Michael Vieira's Facebook account.
The Facebook account in question, "Councilman Michael Vieira," is clearly being used for official town business and should be considered a government record subject to OPRA. This account is distinctly separate from Mr. Vieira's personal account "Michael Vieira" and also uses his official councilman photo. The “Councilman Michael Vieira” account also contains public posts and interactions with constituents all about municipal matters.
As you know, recent legal precedent rules that social media accounts used by elected officials for government purposes are indeed public records. The fact that the account is not directly administered by the township does not exempt it from OPRA requests.
The account in question, titled "Councilman Michael Vieira," is clearly being used for official town business, as evidenced by many public posts related to municipal matters. This usage makes the account a de facto government record, regardless of whether it is officially administered by the Township.
Furthermore, Councilman Vieira maintains a separate personal account under the name "Michael Vieira," indicating that the "Councilman Michael Vieira” account is specifically for his official Township capacity.
Please reconsider this decision and provide access to the requested records. If you maintain your position, kindly provide a detailed explanation of why these records are exempt from OPRA.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Concerned Livingston Residents
A full history of my OPRA request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://opramachine.com/request/councilm...
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Dear Livingston Township,
Why are you delaying access to these public records and not responding to emails for clarification of the same?
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Dear Concerned Livingston Residents,
Per your follow-up for an internal review of OPRA request – Councilman
Michael Vieira Facebook Account, our response is in bold below.
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act
reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Livingston
Township's handling of my OPRA request 'Councilman Michael Vieira
Facebook Account'.
I respectfully disagree with your determination that there are no
responsive government records to this OPRA request regarding
Councilman Michael Vieira's Facebook account.
The Facebook account in question, "Councilman Michael Vieira," is clearly
being used for official town business and should be considered a
government record subject to OPRA. This account is distinctly separate
from Mr. Vieira's personal account "Michael Vieira" and also uses
his official councilman photo. The “Councilman Michael Vieira”
account also contains public posts and interactions with
constituents all about municipal matters.
As you know, recent legal precedent rules that social media
accounts used by elected officials for government purposes are
indeed public records. The fact that the account is not directly
administered by the township does not exempt it from OPRA
requests.
The account in question, titled "Councilman Michael Vieira," is
clearly being used for official town business, as evidenced by
many public posts related to municipal matters. This usage makes the
account a de facto government record, regardless of whether it is
officially administered by the Township.
Furthermore, Councilman Vieira maintains a separate personal
account under the name "Michael Vieira," indicating that the
"Councilman Michael Vieira” account is specifically for his
official Township capacity.
Please reconsider this decision and provide access to the
requested records. If you maintain your position, kindly provide a
detailed explanation of why these records are exempt from OPRA.
The Township is not in possession of the requested records nor does the
Township have access to them.
Dear Office of the Clerk,
We are writing to formally contest your denial of our OPRA request regarding Councilman Michael Vieira's Facebook account "Councilman Michael Vieira." Your claim that the Township is not in possession of or has no access to these records is unacceptable and potentially in violation of New Jersey's OPRA laws.
The Facebook account in question is clearly used for official town business and constitutes a government record subject to OPRA. As an elected official, Councilman Vieira's use of this account for public communications makes it a matter of public record.
We demand that you take immediate action to gain access to this account and its contents. As the custodian of records, it is your legal responsibility to obtain and provide access to all government records, regardless of their physical location or current accessibility.
Failure to do so may be seen as an obstruction of the public's right to access government records. We urge you to contact Councilman Vieira immediately and require him to grant you full access to the account for the purpose of fulfilling this OPRA request.
If this matter is not resolved promptly, we will have no choice but to pursue legal action. Please provide a written response detailing the steps you will take to comply with this request within 5 business days.
We expect full cooperation in this matter to ensure transparency and adherence to New Jersey's open public records laws.
Yours sincerely,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
