I left there with my family three summers ago, so I haven’t been closely following the Murphy/Snaza/City of Centralia drama from across the continent.
It can’t affect me. But, having read Chronicle reporter Jacob Farmer’s excellent article on it, I thought I’d give your readers an outsider’s view on what, exactly, this drama means for you:
Without even discussing the facts, examine what you have, citizens.
Two of these parties are government and one of them wants to be. One of these parties (maybe more) is savagely lying, or this conflict wouldn’t even exist.
Which one? Who’s lying? The ones who are your government right now, or the one who wants to be?
Your homemade local government sandwich is filled with a common brown substance, and you all get to take a bite.
Here are the possibilities:
Snaza is lying, and he is actually the drug king of Lewis County. Or, the City of Centralia is lying, and knows perfectly well Snaza is that king. Or, Murphy is lying about, well, everything. This would mean, of course, that the police union, right now backing Murphy, is backing a liar, and either cannot tell or doesn’t care.
Somebody’s lying to you.
Now, once more, look at where they all work, right now and in the future. This is that sandwich.
Come November, you will get the government you deserve.
The best possible path is this: Murphy was lying, as the city and county claim and he loses his bid for sheriff. Sheriff Snaza becomes Mr. Snaza, just another gray haired old man whose opinion no one listens to anyway. The City of Centralia carries on.
Now, view this from the other perspective: At most, only two of these parties value truth. Of these three parties in this drama, two are currently government and one of them wants to be.
Mmmmm. Sandwich.
Jesse Ohlsson
Formerly of Centralia
