Text Messages- Remember This One

I am marking this piece for the future as I know we will be referencing it again.

Yesterday’s LA Times had a piece about text messages and the City Attorney.

Frankly, I did not read it. The article sounded like pablum.

Then, I was doing the rounds this morning and took a read because I realized it was the summary they do for LA city politics every week and wanted to make sure I saw it all.

Who cares about the City Attorney and her lack of text messages? Inside baseball. Does not matter?

Well, then there was a key reminder in the article. Trying to keep all these facts in memory is hard for any of us.

I quote:

“Mayor Karen Bass came under scrutiny following the Palisades fire over the fact that her text messages auto-delete after 30 days, destroying potentially critical information about her decisions surrounding the devastating blaze. The Times sued the city after Bass’ counsel argued that her texts were “ephemeral” and not subject to public records requests. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also said she auto-deletes messages after 30 days — and sometimes manually deletes them.”

Serendipity the reminder was in the article. As we talk about “accountability,” the tidbit about deleting messages is a crucial reminder our electeds are actively taking measures to escape the responsibility we need to judge their work on crucial things, like fire responses, and more mundane. In fact, it hides in plain sight- the Times told us and it is going on.

Remember this fact.

Bass and Barger deleting text messages as the lawsuits ramp up, especially from those early days. It starts at the top. Then staffers and others do the same because if “the boss” does it, why would they be held accountable?

The “text deletion” is reminder to us all about the accountability we can expect from our electeds. Texting is the primary method of communication for electeds these days. If there is no record, if “it” is swept under the rug, as we said yesterday, then no one can say anything when the cycles move on. We know in an electronic age, sometimes it is just better to not have it written down, and if it is, it should be subject to oversight.

For those who think you are safe just having a conversation, I remind you of 2022.

Just a reminder folks- people want to escape accountability for a reason. Why delete if there is nothing to worry about? I would want it to protect me unless…

Thanks LA Times, not sure if it was intentional or not, but another brick in the wall. Hard to keep it all top of mind.