Gilbert residents speak out against harassment over public records requests
Independent Newsmedia/Tom Blodgett
Gilbert resident and Veterans Advisory Board member Dave Rosenfeld stands before council and accuses some members of retaliating against members of the public who disagree with them.
Two Gilbert residents sharply criticized the Town Council during Tuesday’s public meeting, alleging that local officials are using intimidation tactics to suppress residents’ rights to access public records.
Mindy Brocker and Dave Rosenfeld, both longtime community members, delivered public comments condemning what they described as retaliation and harassment directed at residents who seek transparency from their local government.
Brocker expressed concern over what she called an “increasing effort to bully and shame citizens,” particularly efforts by council members to force people to reveal their identities when filing public records requests. Council members Chuck Bongiovanni and Jim Torgeson had pushed for ways to cut down on anonymous public-records requests at a study session March 25, calling them abusive of public officials.
“We cannot label residents as stalkers, a nuisance or harassers for using their right to review public records or speak up at public meetings,” Brocker said. “The right to access public records, while I’m sure is annoying, is essential to a healthy democracy.”
She detailed her own use of both named and anonymous methods to request public information and said her family has faced backlash from public officials.
“My friends, my family and I have already been subjected to attacks initiated by public officials in the area,” said Brocker, who has been a vocal critic of Higley Unified School District Board Member Anna Van Hoek at HUSD meetings and online.
Brocker also claimed that more than one elected official in the area was threatening retaliation “with violence, social destructions, lawfare, et cetera” when questioned or challenged.
She called the use of the Gilbert Police Department in these instances “deeply troubling.”
“Disingenuous political actors have been using the police force to attempt to make the trivial, legitimate,” she said, adding a call for the police to stop allowing themselves to be weaponized for political purposes.
Rosenfeld, a U.S. Army veteran and original member of the town’s Veterans Advisory Board, described what he believes was a targeted attempt to remove him from town service in retaliation for social media posts critical of certain council actions, including a pay raise and an alleged sign ordinance violation. Bongiovanni responded on a point of privilege that the signs were legal.
Rosenfeld referred to a specific August 2023 email conversation between former Councilmember Kathy Tilque, serving as the council liaison to the VAB, and Torgeson, uncovered through public records, where Rosenfeld said Torgeson sought his removal from the Veterans Advisory Board. Tilque’s email advised taking action against Rosenfeld so close to his social media posts would be seen as retaliatory.
“Councilmember Torgeson responded, ‘yes, I think he needs to go,’” Rosenfeld said, quoting the email reply.
Rosenfeld also accused Torgeson of confronting him inappropriately while out to dinner with his wife and clients and said he submitted a public records request in February to better understand the situation.
“For the first time ever, I submitted a request for information on 5 February,” Rosenfeld said. “I used a nondescript email address in hopes of avoiding retaliation to certain council members. Apparently, I was not successful.”
He said he was “shocked” that one of his records requests was used in the March 25 council study session as an example of system abuse.
“Again, I've never filed a request for records before now, and I am being threatened and harassed for submitting that request,” Rosenfeld said.
Both residents urged the council to respect citizens’ rights and make public records more accessible.
“The right to access the public record is fundamental,” Brocker said. “It belongs to every citizen, not just a select few.”
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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