Several years ago, The Chronicle ceased a long established policy of endorsing candidates in each and every local race.
The decision was made that as a newspaper, our value to readers is the production and publication of meaningful information on every candidate without a declaration of support for a specific candidacy. Our editorial board’s stances had always been developed separately from the reporters who go out and gather the news, but the elimination of endorsements helped remove the question for those unfamiliar with standard newspaper operating protocol.
In making the change, we of course reserved the right — or duty, if you will — to provide critical journalism based on the issues of importance to our readers.
An excellent example would be the recent editorial board interviews of the candidates for Lewis County commissioner and Lewis County Superior Court judge, which are available for viewing at www.chronline.com. There are issues of great importance that deserve discussion, and we thank each candidate for engaging in that debate in such a public forum.
Despite the absence of our endorsements, other local organizations are free to throw their backing behind a candidate of their choice and submit information about the process for inclusion in The Chronicle. This long-standing policy was evident in Saturday’s edition, which carried news of Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce’s scoring of candidates on issues of importance to its board of directors.
In engaging the Chamber, the candidates are confronting the reality of their relationship with the organization, and that’s worth repeating here for the purposes of context. Take the Lewis County Commission District 1 candidates as an example. Edna Fund received criticism from some at the Chamber after the county launched its own tourism website and absorbed tax money that might otherwise have been allocated elsewhere. Dan Keahey is a Port of Centralia commissioner, and the executive director of the port serves on the Chamber board (though it was reported that he abstained from voting).
That’s all to say that voters shouldn’t necessarily assume the scoring completely reflects the quality of the candidates, but they can be confident it reflects their relationship with the leaders of the Chamber.
There’s value in that information, and The Chronicle will continue to be the most visible forum for its publication and discussion.
Our editorial board doesn’t pick winners and losers, but it drives conversation for those who do. That’s a policy that will never change.
Opinions and endorsements related to local races can be submitted to letters@chronline.com or mailed to 321 N. Pearl St., Centralia.
