Russ Steele
The Union Editorial Staff writes this morning that Question authority: It's a good thing
One of the problems with political office, particularly in a small town, is that officeholders can forget those they are serving. Over time, they tend to become part of the institution they were put in office to bird dog for taxpayers - or at least they can be perceived as such.
We guess part of the problem is due to the physical nature of a typical government meeting, where five or so elected officials sit high above the floor, staring down at the people they are supposed to be serving. Anyone who has ever tiptoed to a public-meeting podium can tell you how intimidating that can be. It's kind of like the lion walking to speak with Oz. "Who dares to speak before the mighty Oz!" booms a voice over a loudspeaker.
Has the Union editorial staff noticed that the Press sits at the same level as the Supervisors and look down on the citizens as well in the Board Chamber. Maybe they should get down off their high perch and mingle with the constituents as well, sit with the rest of us. The BOS held a Workshop/Retreat at the Holiday Inn where constituents were more than welcome to come and observe, mingle and ask questions at the breaks. We only saw a Union reporter at the Workshop the morning of the first day.
At the Workshop/Retreat last year one of the Supervisors recommended that the Press box be moved to the back of the chamber, giving their high perch to key staff members.
The Union is no longer the only voice in the community, and that is good because the Union only tells readers part of the story, and the current DA office flap is a good example. There will always be those "rest of the story" moments that readers can find here, here, here and here. Especially on the current flap over the DA office move. There will be more opportunities in the coming months, so book mark your local blogger and get "the rest of the story."
