Len Salt, mayor of the sparsely-populated Thames-Coromandel District on the coast of New Zealand, offered a succinct reply to a sovereign citizen who requested private informationa about council staff: "Go f✴ck yourself," Salt wrote.
Newshub reports that the message was sent on July 10, 2023, but only posted online a few days ago by Steve Hart, who had opposed Salt in 2022's mayoral race.
The email was requesting private information about council staff such as their names and addresses. "My official response, as Mayor of Thames-Coromandel District Council, to your request for personal details of staff names and addresses, is this. Go fuck yourself. Kind regards Len," Salt replied.
Salt explains himself:
"If people were to say this is not the language or decorum you expect from a mayor, I would take that criticism on the chin," Salt said. But I have always said to the council, and the community, I will protect them. In a climate of increasing hostility towards elected representatives and their staff, I believe it was necessary."
Though a satisfying response to pests who want to disrupt services, incur costs or harass workers, it would surely be cheaper and more ethical to just provide any relevant public records addressed by the request and deal with the problem when it actually happens. I don't know about New Zealand's FOIA equivalent but you'd think a "malicious compliance officer" to whom obstreperous requests are referred would be an easy hire. An enthusiastic one might be able to take care of several local authorities.
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