Stevan Johnson v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20201643)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 24, 2020 SPR20/1643 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston 1 City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Mr. Stevan Johnson appealing the nonresponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 23, 2020, Mr. Johnson requested “a copy of the Notice, if any, addressed to the holder of City of Boston Hackney Carriage Driver’s License 9312 (‘License 9312’) regarding the hearing the holder of License 9312 is entitled to be conducted with respect to the July 15, 2014 application to renew License 9312 being denied, and (iii) a copy of the Notice, if any, addressed to the holder of License 9312 regarding a hearing to provide the holder of License 9312 the opportunity to be heard and challenge the false assertions contained in the ‘recommendation’ dated March 25, 2016 the Director of Licensing (Boston Police Captain James M. Gaughan) forwarded to the 41st Police Commissioner regarding the application to renew License 9312 being denied on July 15, 2014 --- without providing the holder of License 9312 with a copy of the ‘recommendation’ dated March 25, 2016 until after January 1, 2017.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Johnson petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that a representative from the City intends on providing a written response to Mr. Johnson. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Johnson with a response made in One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR20/1643 Page 2 September 24, 2020 accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations within 10 business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of each response to this to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Johnson may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Stevan Johnson