Now, he continued, he is asking the city council for accountability:

At the October 20 city council meeting, in a brief remark, I asked the City Manager to investigate how privileged city documents were being leaked to the media. My request puts several people in uncomfortable positions. The people who leaked the material are uncomfortable. And the media are uncomfortable. But the comfort of those people and organizations is not my concern.

Leaking, he writes, is "sneaky and dishonest." It "destroys" the government's ability to function. Really?

He further notes that the leaked documents were "written under the attorney-client privilege." Doesn't he know that the clients are under no obligation to keep documents secret? The council and mayor have the right to share legal memos with the public (and, some might even say, a duty to do so if they involve public issues).

As for the leaker or leakers, he essentially calls them cowards for not publicly stepping forward.

Johnson's blog post is an apparent response to an editorial The Bee published on Thursday:

Through his actions and words, he seems to care more about who leaked a confidential memo to The Bee detailing serious violations of city policy and federal regulations than about the violations themselves. At Tuesday night's council meeting, a steaming Johnson called for a closed-door council session attended by the city police chief. He wanted the chief there to discuss what he called "the crime" committed when a memo written by City Attorney Eileen Teichert about the Natomas permit violations was leaked to The Bee. ...This incident demands a thorough, open and independent investigation, not closed-door meetings intended to plug leaks and hide information from the public.

We're glad we got the mayor's attention.

His essay required some slight editing, but it was packed with a powerful descriptions.

Patients with severe mental illnesses, wrote Fairman, were waiting on gurneys at the UC David Medical Center for days before being treated.

"One woman with schizophrenia was discharged with her doctors fully aware that there was some danger she might hurt herself or deteriorate further," he wrote. "The doctors' only other option, though, was to keep her on a gurney in the hallway."

We published Fairman's article, "ERs bear brunt of cuts to mental health," on the Viewpoints page on Oct. 10. I mention it because it represents a type of commentary, and a standard of writing, that we want to bring to these pages more frequently.

A doctor at UC Davis Medical Center, Fairman had not written for The Bee before. He wasn't a professional journalist. But he was angered by what he believed was an injustice that was overlooked in our community. As an ER doctor, he was in a unique position to chronicle what was happening.

As an editorial page editor, I wish I could find more Nathan Fairmans. No, I am not looking for doctors to fill our pages. I'm looking for unexpected voices. I'm looking for people of various occupations and backgrounds who can write with passion and personal knowledge of what they know best.

To read the rest of this post, go here.