At least two members of the news media were on hand Tuesday morning to challenge the D.C. Council’s closed session of its annual retreat at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. As The Examiner’s Alan Blinder noted Monday, the closed session of the retreat will include a discussion of the District’s open meetings law. Hmmm.
WTOP/ABC’s Mark Segraves and NBC Channel 4’s Tom Sherwood showed up anyway on Tuesday to officially be kicked out of the closed morning session.
Segraves Tweeted that council staff and security were called as he and Sherwood tried to enter the meeting. “Chairman [Kwame] Brown says vote to close meeting to public was unanimous but his staff can’t provide a roll call vote as required by law,” Segraves said.
The two are now relegated to observing what kind of food is being shipped in for the retreat’s lunch (bottled water, cupcakes, cream of broccoli soup, vegetable platters and paninis – in case anyone’s interested) and questioning council members as they occasionally step outside.
The open session, which will include groundbreaking news like council accomplishments and 2012 goals, kicks off in the afternoon.
