Once Ousted PA Open-Records Chief Wins Case Against Wolf

By Andrew Staub | PA Independent

Gov. Tom Wolf won’t again lock out Erik Arneson — for at least five years, anyway.

The state Supreme Court on Tuesday morning agreed with a lower court’s finding that Wolf could not treat Arneson, executive director of the Office of Open Records, as an at-will employee who could be fired without cause at the governor’s whim.

Tuesday’s decision is a stinging loss for Wolf, who didn’t like that his predecessor, former Gov. Tom Corbett, appointed Arneson to the job in the waning weeks of his lame-duck administration. At the same time, it’s a win for the independence of the Office of Open Records, which hears appeals when government agencies — including the governor’s office —  deny a release of records requested under the state’s Right-To-Know Law.

Supreme Court Justice Max Baer wrote the opinion, which noted “the need to insulate the OOR and its Executive Director from the potential for coercive influence from a Governor to accomplish the purpose of the RTKL.”

“I’ve said all along the Office of Open Records must be independent to work as it was intended,” Arneson said following the ruling. “I’m thrilled the Supreme Court has agreed, and I’m excited to continue working as the head of this office. It’s an incredible team.”

Appointed by Corbett just before Wolf took office Jan. 20, Arneson will now be allowed to fulfill the balance of his six-year term.

Wolf conceded defeat in a statement from his press secretary, Jeffrey Sheridan.

“The Wolf Administration looks forward to working with Mr. Arneson to promote transparency,” Sheridan said, before listing various reforms the governor has already made, such as enacting a gift ban for the executive branch and posting cabinet expenses online.

While nice for public transparency and accountability, those reforms weren’t related to the Arneson case, which began when Wolf fired him shortly after taking office. Arneson, who moved into the position after serving as a longtime aide for state Senate Republicans, called it a “nuclear attack” on the Office of Open Records, refused to leave his job and said it would take a court order or handcuffs to oust him.

Wolf used another strategy. He locked Arneson out of his office and cut off his salary and benefits. Arneson and Senate Republicans sued and claimed major victories twice along the way.

In June, the Commonwealth Court found that Wolf overstepped and reinstated Arneson as executive director of the Office of Open Records. Though Wolf appealed it, the decision found there was “clear legislative intent” in the Right-to-Know Law to insulate the Office of Open Records executive director from the governor’s power to remove appointees at-will.

That provided the framework for Tuesday’s state Supreme Court ruling, which cemented Arneson’s status leading the office.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, called the decision a “tremendous victory for ensuring government transparency and accountability in our Commonwealth.”