This newspaper is so many different things to so many different people.
Some of you subscribe simply so you can read the death notices. Others just want to read the latest plot twist in “For Better or For Worse” and follow the antics of the rest of the gang over on the comics pages. If feedback is any indicator, a good many of you just want to know what’s happening in the community, and for 129 years, The Chronicle has been the best source of that important information.
In the confines of this newsroom, the mission has always been to make our greatest effort each day to answer a singular question: What is the truth?
It’s a question that must be asked in perpetuity in order to ensure fair coverage on any given issue. Make no mistake about it, there is absolute truth in our world. It’s not a matter of relativity or point of view, but it does take some digging and honest questioning to unearth and present the true facts to the public. That process can be difficult and time-consuming. It can result in criticism, scrutiny, errors and animosity, but a community needs an arbiter of the facts, and the process, occasionally grueling, is necessary.
Over the past two years, much of our efforts have been focused on Lewis County government and the shortcomings and failures we’ve witnessed being carried out at the expense of taxpayers, many being the same folks who pay for our ability, through subscriptions and and advertisements, to report the news.
Lately, I’ve felt the need to outline what we as a newsroom have accomplished with your blessing in a relatively short period of time.
Here’s what I came up with:
• The senior centers are open. In late 2016, the Lewis County commissioners dropped a bomb on the patrons of the five senior centers the county has supported through an annual investment of about $375,000 a year. They planned to close them in 2017, so we and others screamed like hell. The timing was awful. The centers, under the commissioners’ initial plan, would have no time to save themselves. The announcement came after Commissioner Edna Fund, a frequent visitor and supporter of the centers, had secured reelection for another four years. It was clear the county was in dire financial straits, but cutting the senior centers in the fashion that was devised in secret was despicable. So what happened? After we sounded the alarm with news stories and commentaries, the commissioners changed course. They extended funding. They did what should have always been the plan, and that’s create the framework for a fair and honest transition to the private sector. Keep an eye on their next moves. I’ve been told the centers will likely be relieved of funding next year. I’d hate to see that happen.
• Public meetings law is being followed. This newsroom was shocked to its core when we learned the county commissioners were operating under the woefully flawed belief that the public had no right to know specifically what the commissioners were doing with their time. The Open Public Meetings Act is as clear as day. If elected officials are carrying out public business, the public has the legal right to know what is being discussed and when, and within 24 hours. Instead of providing that required transparency, the commissioners relied on a 2009 resolution that claimed every working day in the courthouse, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., was one continuous public meeting with no need for additional notice. Oh, they published calendars. You’d know if the commissioners planned to attend Cheese Days in Toledo, but you’d have no idea if they were meeting to discuss raising your taxes or closing the senior centers. We found that to be beyond problematic, so we enlisted the help of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and went to work. As is our practice when the people’s rights are being trampled, we applied rigid reporting and fiery commentaries and editorials to the situation. Time passed, and the commissioners flinched. After some solid advice from the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, they changed their policy and began following the law, but not before citizens filed a lawsuit that required the commissioners to pay out thousands of dollars in a settlement. I’m not happy taxpayer money was lost, but that’s the cost of not following the law. Since our reporting resulted in a change in policy, we have learned of literally dozens of issues that would have remained in the dark had we not put the power of the press to action. As a result, it’s fair to say Lewis County government is more transparent than ever. We’re not resting on our laurels and celebrating a job well done. We remain ready to respond if this type of nonsense is repeated by government officials who may have the best intentions in mind, but are just as beholden to the law as the rest of us.
• There is hope for the 911 communications center. When we asked former Lewis County commissioner Bill Schulte about a vote of no confidence by dispatchers in the Lewis County 911 Communications Center and related concerns about management from area police and fire chiefs, he said their complaints were “bull----.” Our reporting found otherwise. The dispatch center was understaffed, overworked and under the management of a leader who lacked even the basic job requirements outlined by the county. This was not only a matter of mismanagement by the county, but an issue of public safety. So again, we went to work. We notified the public of the situation and then fleshed out commentaries on the Opinion pages. Every day, placing one foot in front of the other, we put the puzzle of truth together for our readers. Eventually, the county commissioners collapsed under the honest pressure of public knowledge. They enlisted the help of former sheriff Steve Mansfield, who was placed in charge of the center. He began the process of increasing morale and improving relationships with those who rely on the communications center. Meanwhile, the cities of Centralia and Chehalis began researching the possibility of creating their own communications center. Lewis County residents are safer today than they were before The Chronicle arrived on the scene. Of that, I am certain.
• We’re getting a county manager. An overarching theme of our editorial board’s stance on all the mismanagement issues in Lewis County government has been to call for the hiring of a county manager or executive to help often inexperienced elected commissioners do the work of the people as efficiently and professionally as possible. Most counties and cities have a manager, someone who has been schooled in the workings of government and has experience with managing large budgets. Last year, the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce rose to the occasion, initiating the signature-gathering process to pursue a home rule charter with the chief goal being to make the position of county manager a permanent fixture in Lewis County government. You’ll see the measure on your ballot in November. If approved, freeholders will be elected and given the duty of shaping what amounts to a new constitution for Lewis County. Meanwhile, the commissioners have succumb to the pressure, along with the advice of a task force they appointed amidst all the turmoil, and are actively seeking a county manager to help them carry out their duties. No matter what happens, this county will be under better management in a short period of time. That bodes well for both the present and the future.
• The actions of our judges have been made public. When the county’s insurance pool paid out $400,000 to a former court staffer who alleged nine years of sexual harassment by former Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt, they proved the woman’s claims had merit. Likewise, a separate set of accusations directed at Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard alleged he drank alcohol on the job and kept a loaded firearm in his desk. None of this would have come to light without public records requests being filed by The Chronicle. We even went to court to secure our rights to the information in the case of Judge Nelson Hunt, eventually gaining access to a full picture of the scope of alleged misdeeds by those we hold to the highest standards of all when it comes to the law — the judges who enforce it.
Elected officials aren’t bad people. To the contrary, they often care more about their communities than anyone else. Their jobs aren’t easy, and they choose to pursue them regardless, often with little pay and a lot of stress. Those realities hold true for our journalists as well. I can assure you, none of us are in this for the money. It’s more of a calling, an innate desire for fairness and transparency across all walks of life that often drives us to act in a way that’s harmful to our own self interests, whether it’s time with our families or hours spent working off the clock.
Elected officials want the same things we do in most cases. Unfortunately, as we are all just regular folks once our titles are removed, mistakes are made and errors in judgement occur. That’s natural. We’re all human.
The role of the press in general and this newspaper in particular is to inform, whether that’s a feature story on a community festival or an investigative report on the failures of government. As I look at the accomplishments above, I am proud to be part of this righteous endeavor we call a newspaper.
Your support allows for it all, and in that way, you’re a partner in holding our government and the institutions we expect to serve us to account. You allow us to speak truth to power, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable in a way that is fair and honest as part of a never-ending pursuit of the truth.
For that, I offer my sincere thanks.
Spend a little extra time with the newspaper today. Explore every page, from the cover to the comics. Read a section you’ve never really focused on before. Take in the full scope of what we do with your blessing and support, and consider the importance of a free press and its role in this little democratic republic we call a country.
For better or for worse.
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Eric Schwartz is the editor of The Chronicle. He can be reached at eschwartz@chronline.com or 360-807-8224.
