REQUEST TO U OF M GENERAL COUNSEL TO RELEASE GOV.

DAYTON LECTURE VIDEOTAPE

The following email was sent shortly after 1:00 p.m. September 19, 2012

Dear Mr. Rotenberg, I write to request the immediate release of the University of Minnesota's videotape of Governor Mark Dayton's Lecture to the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs Policy Fellows on September 12, 2012. President Kaler was in attendance for this august event, as was entirely proper. For all I know, you may have been as well. At any rate, the University has failed to release its videotape of this very public event. Local media, MinnPost to be precise, characterized the event thus: "Some media may attend, but it's closed to the public." What a remarkable statement that is. In point of fact, this is manifestly a public event and as such the public has a right to the videotape of our Chief Executive Officer. The school, through MPR, allowed the audio to be released, rather conclusively undercutting any claim to a private function status. It may not arbitrarily and capriciously withhold the video. Prof. Larry Jacobs embarrassed himself to me on Twitter claiming that because videotape was so very expensive they were unable to videotape the Governor's Lecture to the HHH Policy Fellows. I've had people think I was stupid before but this sets a new mark. I'm told that local television stations videotaped the Lecture. While they can keep this video under wraps and away from citizens for their own reasons, the University has an affirmative obligation to provide the public with full and complete coverage of all of its many public events.

My own personal belief is that this enormous problem of transparency can be best

remedied simply by having the HHH School website post the video of both the Lecture by the Governor as well as the interview by Prof. Larry Jacobs, itself followed by question and answer. I do not want to instigate a lawsuit over this matter although I'm confident Minnesota's courts would agree with me that this was a public function and that the video should be placed in the public domain. I look forward to your answer and to resolving this glaring omission in the publics' right to know. Yours very truly,

John Hugh Gilmore Gilmore Law Offices 64 West Delos Street Saint Paul, Minnesota 55107