Tuesday was a big day for me and my family.
We were notified of a lucrative new deal providing “more than $100,000 a year” to the Silver Agency, a Chehalis-based business my wife Coralee and I own in addition to The Chronicle and the other community newspapers we acquired in 2021.
Lewis County Public Utility District Commissioner Mike Hadaller notified me of the good news in a letter to the editor submission Tuesday morning. He said the Economic Alliance of Lewis County was providing the money bag as part of an elaborate plot to (checks notes) investigate whether a hydrogen energy plant might be a prosperous fit for our community.
So sinister!
Unfortunately, like much of what Hadaller has written in his recent screeds, the news of the windfall was not accurate.
That’s pretty much been the theme with Hadaller.
Afterall, math — much like mudslinging — can be messy. (See proof of that in Hadaller’s problems with the Public Disclosure Commission here.)
His previous letter to the editor submission included so many fabrications and leaps in logic that it was rejected on its face by our editor. Allegations of payouts, imaginary political recruitments, citations of nonexistent state legislation — it had it all.
But back to the money.
Hadaller isn’t completely wrong. The Silver Agency has done business with the Alliance.
After checking the books, I learned our marketing firm has made under $20,000 from the Alliance over the years by performing initial marketing and advertising tasks and creating the new Discover Lewis County website (check it out at https://discoverlewiscounty.com — our staff did a great job) and the Alliance’s primary website (https://lewiscountyalliance.org — seriously, we’re blessed with a lot of talent at the Silver Agency).
But why stop there?
We went through the Alliance of Lewis County Board of Directors and counted 18 people who have done business with Silver Agency over the years. There’s probably more. And I don’t blame them. The Silver Agency is among the premiere marketing firms in the region.
As most readers know, I had a whole political and professional career before becoming owner and publisher of this newspaper.
When we acquired The Chronicle in 2021, we weren’t naive. We knew that in attempting to create a bright future for our community newspaper, there would be those who would use our existing business to attempt to discredit The Chronicle newsroom’s independent reporting and our own reputations.
I rest comfortable in the knowledge that our journalists at The Chronicle operate freely without concern, pressure, guidance or any involvement whatsoever from the Silver Agency.
Still, when a business has done as much as the Silver Agency, it’s easy for a guy like Hadaller to stretch yarn from thumbtack to thumbtack as he concocts a wall of supposed conspiratorial connections.
Hadaller, in his opposition to the Alliance’s work on the Fortescue hydrogen project, has resorted to grift. And, as is to be expected, he’s found a willing partner in the four-page newsletter formerly known as the Town Crier in Winlock, a publication not burdened by a need to tell the truth.
So what’s the rub?
The Alliance of Lewis County is working with Fortescue on a potential hydrogen energy project. Hadaller publicly opposed the project. The Alliance’s board chairman Luke Moerke penned a commentary published in The Chronicle offering to host “a community event, inviting all stakeholders, including Fortescue, the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance, Commissioner Hadaller, Commissioner Lindsey Pollock, and most importantly, our residents” to discuss the matter.
Hadaller’s latest letter of course ignored this olive branch.
Why would the commissioner want to discuss the matter in an open setting with all players involved when he can break the news that The Chronicle’s publisher — a longtime businessman — has in fact done business?
Hadaller is dodging and distracting because he’s afraid or unwilling to discuss Fortescue’s proposal in an open setting.
That’s sad coming from a public official, at least for those interested in learning about a potentially promising proposal that deserves close, accurate examination.
That’s just my two cents, which are still worth a lot more than Hadaller’s imaginary $100,000.
Chad Taylor, who has done business with half of Lewis County since purchasing the Silver Agency nearly 20 years ago, is the owner and publisher of The Chronicle. He can be reached at chad@chronline.com.
