The World editorial board makes an effort to characterize a divided county commission with Bob Main, once again, being the odd man out. John Sweet and Melissa Cribbins are “a new majority” writes the paper and “more forward-thinking” and the former’s new policy to revise the liaison assignments helps to corral Main whom the editors view as a Luddite. “Sweet’s plan extends the new majority’s dominance to every department, not just two-thirds of them.”
Sweet’s suggested changes to the liaison relationship between the board and the county departments as well as consideration of hiring a finance director and other administrative adjustments may be very beneficial but to quote a refreshingly well written editorial by Paul Krugman in yesterday’s NY Times “Their proposals for a makeover all involve changing the sales pitch rather than the product.” In other words, in this instance it merely deflects from the real problem which is revenue brought about in large part by a system of special assessments that has corporate property owners paying taxes at an effective rate much lower than the rest of us.
The paper’s repeated lavish praise on all things and all commissioners that are not Bob Main is almost almost painful to read and reminiscent of the cloying and unctuous pronouncements so liberally and tediously delivered by Cam Parry. After all, Main is just one commissioner perpetually dominated by a majority of officials heavily endorsed by the editors. Main certainly isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but is he really deserving of this constant enmity when all indications so far is that the board is working together pretty well? Why invent a controversy before it exists?
Lastly, the paper again resorts to calling the public names. “A succession of commissioners has condoned misbehavior from noisy malcontents”, it claims. “Citizens have a right to attend county meetings, but not to hijack them”. Conducting the people’s business is not meant to be spectator sport and all too often the commissioners themselves have resorted to bullying and abusive behavior when dealing with the public and while decorum is always preferred it is a two way street and sometimes the public has to shout to be heard.
And if we are lucky, perhaps among the next moves by 2/3 of the dream team, Cribbins can arrange a Native American “Smudging” ceremony. A cleansing of all things bad.
What should we expect when the publisher has never been a reporter or editor of anything since college and he does not know our community; the editor has been a failure and was recently relieved of half his duty; the city editor has been a newspaper person for a year (prior to that he wrote free lance articles about cooking chocolate and fixing skate board wheels), and the county reporter graduated high school last year. There is reason why the weekly Sentinel paaper continues to grow. Every world editorial gives readers reason to cancel their subscriptions; and many have. These editors are afflicted with logorrhea and yet they say nothing of importance. Main should hang in and let two hand carry ego Cribbins and Sweet redo the county. There is no doubt that the two planned their early moves prior to taking office.
I am embarrassed for the paper reading its hate for Main. It is downright embarrassing
“Screed”, I could not for the life of me think of that word today… thank you
Can I hear an Ah men? Mary, I was thinking much the same thing when I read this screed editorial. Why in the ‘world’ (pun intended) project so much discord into a brand new board just getting started? I sure hope Main has something on these guys and will spring it soon. After all, he was the county assessor for years and surely knows what’s what and who pays how much. What you are leading to, is advocating a new tax structure that doesn’t favor the corporations. I’m for that.