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One of RedGate Municipal Golf Course's biggest supporters is looking for information on the course's opponents.

In January, Joe Jordan, who heads the RedGate Advisory Committee for the City of Rockville, filed a state Public Information Act request for all e-mails between the City Council and Art Stigile, who has been a vocal critic of the city-owned course, which is losing money. Jordan's request also included e-mails with his own name and e-mails between the council and Theresa Defino, who also has been critical of RedGate.

Jordan said he's not sure what he will do with the information.

"[I asked for it] because of [Stigile's] outspokenness on the golf course," he said. "I don't know [how it will be useful]."

For more than a year, the City Council has discussed what to do with the course it has owned and operated since 1974. From fiscal 1999 through fiscal 2009, the course posted a deficit of $1.1 million.

On Feb. 7, the council voted to solicit offers for a private company to run the course. They also voted to develop a job description for a director of golf position.

Stigile and Defino said they oppose paying for the course's financial shortfalls with money from the city's general fund. In fiscal 2011, the city projects RedGate's expenses to be $1.3 million; $1 million is paid by course users and $300,000 is subsidized from the city's $105 million operating budget.

Stigile spoke to the City Council at the Feb. 7 meeting. He said he supports Jordan's request but does not think it is right and asked the council to discharge Jordan from his committee chairmanship.

"You don't have to be a political genius to see that Mr. Jordan's action is designed to intimidate and silence critics of this [golf course] bailout," he said. "I believe it is totally unacceptable for an official representative of the city to go on a fishing expedition as a means to silence critics of a policy proposal that is advocated by the committee he chairs."

Marylou Berg, Rockville's public information officer, said she could not remember such a request having been filed before.

"I can't recall a particular Public Information Act request like this," she said. "But any e-mails that come to the City Council are public information. City e-mail, in general, is subject to a public information request."

Defino said she sees the request as directly connected to her criticism of Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio. Jordan ran Marcuccio's campaign in 2009.

"I think it's harassment, I think it's intimidation and it's a witch hunt," she said. "I have been one of the most vocal critics of the mayor. I'm not going to be bullied and I'm not going to stop saying what I think needs to be said."

Jordan said his request for Defino's e-mails is directly related to information she posted from a city e-mail on a local blog.

"It didn't make any sense that within two days that she knew about my request when I had not even received confirmation, from the city, that my letter was received," Jordan said. "It's obvious to me that someone in city hall was giving e-mails and passing on information that was of little interest or concern."

Marcuccio said she did not know Jordan was going to make the information request. She also said she had not discussed whether Jordan would run her campaign this year.

Jordan defended his request.

"I wanted to see what else was being said," he said. "I wanted to see if there was anything else that involved me, very simple."

snorris@gazette.net