A Multnomah County judge granted a temporary restraining order October 1, barring District 2 City Councilor Dan Ryan from deleting messages held on his private cell phone and other devices. The restraining order stems from a lawsuit filed by the Mercury seeking records from the councilor that weren’t provided in a public records request. The same day the court order was issued last week—Ryan later submitted in a court declaration—his spouse traded in his personal phone for a new one.
By law, communication made by elected officials as part of their job duties is considered public record except under narrow circumstances. City councilors are given city-issued phones and computers to perform their duties, but communication made on private devices could also be subject to public disclosure if it pertains to their role as an elected official.
It’s unclear how often Ryan uses his personal devices to communicate about city business, and whether any relevant messages are accessible. The councilor told the court he set his device to automatically delete messages after 30 days beginning in March, and that he no longer has the phone he was using until recently. The councilor indicated in court records that the information on his device, including messages and metadata, appears to have been preserved…