Our Right to Know: Elouise McDaniel

By Savannah Rude

Elouise McDaniel, an 86-year-old retired school teacher, never thought that exercising her rights would lead to her being sued by her city as a “vexatious requester.”

McDaniel, who was a resident of Irvington, New Jersey at the time and now lives in Virginia, often requested records under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). She requested records regarding the town’s mayor, Tony Vauss, because she was concerned about his and his administration’s actions.

“When we asked these questions, you couldn’t get any answers,” McDaniel said. “So, someone told me about the open public records, and I read up on it, and that’s when I started sending them in.”

Most of the records McDaniel filed concerned the town’s finances and the amount Vauss was being paid.

“Those are the types of records I send in,” McDaniel said. “So, then the mayor filed a complaint against me.”

Irvington Township in 2021 accused McDaniel of harassment and defamation in the suit and stated that she had filed 75 OPRA requests over a three-year period.

The suit also alleged that McDaniel was making requests “with the sole purpose and intent to harass, abuse and harm Plaintiffs and employees of the Township, including its Mayor.”

McDaniel said she was only exercising her rights.

“I called the American Civil Liberties Union, and I explained to them what was going on, and they took the case,” McDaniel said. “The mayor dropped the case right away when they found out, the city dropped it just like that.”

The plaintiff in the suit was Harold Wiener, Irvington’s Municipal Clerk, who told NBC that he did not request a lawsuit against McDaniel and that she was well within her rights to request records.

Vauss also denied involvement in the suit to NBC. Following the news coverage, the town dropped the suit.

McDaniel continued to request records about Vauss and his administration. But she said that Vauss continued to try to intimidate her.

McDaniel recalled a time when she and a couple of other senior citizens were gathered outside town hall waiting for a meeting. They were handing out flyers to people when she said that Vauss and some police officers pulled up.

“He drove them to that spot, and the cops jumped out of the car, hand on the gun. I was so scared, and we had all the seniors there,” McDaniel said. “Everybody was so afraid, and we didn’t know what was going to happen. No noise, no nothing, you could hear a pen drop.”

McDaniel said she filed a complaint with the public safety department after the incident and continued to request records from her local government.

After the lawsuit and continued intimidation, McDaniel said she wrote letters to New Jersey officials to explain the situation.

“Not one answered or came to my rescue. I let them know what was going on and sent proof,” McDaniel said. “It seemed like they closed their eyes and ears.”

McDaniel said that Irvington is not a wealthy town, which makes misappropriation of government funds even more concerning.

“Did I feel like they failed me? Yes,” McDaniel said. “It’s sad, like what are you trying to hide?”

McDaniel still encouraged her fellow residents to continue asking for answers.

“In order for us to make changes, we have to work together,” McDaniel said. “If you don’t like what’s going on, if the concerns are bothering you like they are bothering me, then you have to, or things will remain the same.”