D.C. Council Meets in Secret

dcogcadmin | October 28, 2009

As reported by the D.C. Wire, the D.C. Council met behind closed doors on Tuesday, blocking several reporters’ attempts to enter.  Council Chair Vincent Gray told reporters that the Council was discussing a personnel matter, and his staff stated that the meeting was private because no official action was being taken (a reference to the D.C. code, which states that "All meetings . . .

As reported by the D.C. Wire, the D.C. Council met behind closed doors on Tuesday, blocking several reporters’ attempts to enter.  Council Chair Vincent Gray told reporters that the Council was discussing a personnel matter, and his staff stated that the meeting was private because no official action was being taken (a reference to the D.C. code, which states that "All meetings . . . at which official action of any kind is taken shall be open to the public.")  Loose Lips (Mike DeBonis at the City Paper) reports that "things got quite heated at times in there, to the point that Gray threatened to his colleagues to let the media in," and also notes that the discussion concerned the continued presence of Ximena Hartsock as the head of the Department of Parks and Recreation despite a Council vote against her appointment.