Police or Public Records? That's the Choice (to Tom Carr)

The P-I's Strange Bedfellows political blog has this very interesting piece. At a panel discussion on open government, apparently Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr implied that providing public records might be so expensive that the city would have to cut vital services like police. According to the piece, Carr said:

"My mayor and council have to decide -- how many police officers is that worth? ... As a lawyer, I can't look the mayor in the face and say, 'Make do with less police officers.'"

The piece goes on to describe the reaction of another panelist, Lynn Kessler:

"State House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, showed great restraint in just mentioning in passing that there is probably something other than police or firefighters in the city's $926 million budget that might be a better target for a cut."

You just can't make this stuff up.