The very same editorial board that saw nothing wrong with a Bay Area Chamber of Commerce promoted and CCAP (Coos County Alliance for Progress) PAC funded “power grab” during the last county commissioners election is now outraged that four democrats running for seats on the Southern Oregon Community College Board are backed by the Make The Change PAC under a promotion entitled Democrats for Education. “In a nutshell, Democrats for Education is a clumsy scheme to pack the board with Democrats”, writes the paper and then proceeds to endorse three Republicans as an alternative.
Integrating more liberal and independent views on to many local boards dominated by conservative thinking is a good idea but the effort spearheaded by the Coos County Democratic organization leader Mark McKelvey to elect Democrats to non-partisan races is clumsy and clearly mismanaged giving the impression the candidates are running on a slate. The Make The Change PAC effectively painted all the candidates with the same brush, much as the so-called “pro-business” CCAP PAC tarnished the 2012 county commission race.
The paper asks “How stupid do these people think the voters are?” The editors further denigrate the four democratic candidates because they have union endorsements.
In a nutshell, Democrats for Education is a clumsy scheme to pack the board with Democrats — and specifically with supporters of organized labor, presumably for the benefit of college employee unions.
Gasp! Imagine a couple of board members willing to consider the needs of the staff without which the college would not run. The paper has betrayed its own anti-union sentiments and urges people not to elect these candidates to the non-partisan board for no other reason than they also happen to be democrats. I’m not fond of the democratic party either, but really???
As to the question above, the voters didn’t fall for CCAP theatrics despite the paper cheer leading so I would guess that the voters are at least smarter than The World editorial board.
The editorial concludes “the ballot contains well-qualified candidates who provide an alternative to the partisan power grab”, and proceeds to endorse four ideologically pro-business candidates, (pro-business in the same narrow vein as the CCAP considers itself pro-business), three of whom also happen to be Republicans.
Thanks for this article Mary. You put my thoughts on the matter into print. The total hypocrisy exhibited here indicates a stunted mind. I believe in the need for a local publication which is why I continue with this rag, but my patience is near end. I’d hoped the Sentinel might develop into an alternative, but so far that hasn’t happened.
Sadly, check out their Facebook page and pay attention to what his “readers” post. Why would they be anything else? They still think the Port of Coos Bay is all funded privately. Why you ask? Because no one ever told them other wise, nor does Clark and his new boss, ever intend to do so. I really wish there were mandatory guidelines for honesty in reporting, sadly, there is none, nor any semblance of professionalism. When the boys get a topic their “readers” react to, he’ll post it three or four times on Facebook, receiving three times the “hits”. It’s so damned obvious it’s sickening, and most of those posting are really proud of “living here my hole life, and I seen how good the Port is”, is about all you find. He baits them with silly little photos of kids and ice cream and playful little goats, and asks these stay at home Moms to post their ideas, cha ching, more hits. What the hell I wouldn’t give for one decent news source on the entire S Western quarter of Oregon.
The CCAP backed what we believed were the most competent of the candidates based upon business experience and skillset. I don’t know if John Sweet is a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Socialist – and I don’t care. He was the best candidate running for his position. However, had we backed three candidates on the premise that they were all Lutheran, THAT would be pretty stupid – as is the attempt to load the College’s board with union loving members with zero regard for business sense or skill. The same goes for your argument that the two situations are the same.
Business experience has nothing to do with overseeing public services
We should be asking the paper just how stupid it thinks its readers are
Speaking of the World newspaper, here’s todays’ Facebook page header:
World photographer Alysha Beck found this little guy playing with a slide near Blossom Gulch Road yesterday.
Help The World write a headline for this photo. Leave us something cute in the comments below!
Cute little goats playing. Yup, what passes for “news” in a distressed county in Oregon. Glad to see Clark’s new Publisher is just like the last one, which was Clark himself.
Any group of humans working on anything will probably screw it up, but I cannot imagine how we are going to turn this ship right side up without some kind of organizing for The People. Anyone paying attention knows the system is broken, from the White House to the Port of Coos Bay. Without workers demands, they get what they’ve been getting for thirty or more years-screwed.
Speaking of Mark McKelvey, another quote from his hero, THIS is the VP of his party:
Biden: Guns should fire chocolate bullets because ‘people love chocolate’
I’ve noticed a lot of serious discussion amongst the posters on many many “progressive” sites this week discussing how we fix the mess. Serious discussions about how to remove the government and how to replace it. The first thing to do is never ever vote for a R or D again, ever. It’s going to be hard, but it has to change or the nation crumbles.
What do we expect from a group of inexperienced amateurs running that paper. Wouldn’t it be nice if Clarkie who claims to be an unbiased reporter, and then demonstrates time and again that he is anything but, would spend less time making videos singing praise to the LNG Gods and more time giving his customers a professional quality product. There is good reason why the World on its best day sells 8891 papers in a market with a potential of 40,000. This non Democrat voted Stamper, also anything but Benetti, also God help us if Barton gets elected. And, mostly empty circles.
Has anyone noticed the destroyed costly Barton campaign banners. His enemy didn’t just tear them down but whacked the bejeebers out of them.
Buy that man (or woman) a beer
Mark and Danny may have thought they had a better relationship with the staff at theworld when they joined in on the effort to smear the top people at ORRCA in their online forums.
They share the same goals as theworld for developing the port for LNG,but Mark has found the limits of their tolerance for his political shenanigans when he tried to put in place this gang approach to seating Dems over Repubs. After all most of the chamber types are republicans and theworld will always choose to back the Repubs over the Dems, except for Arnie,Caddy, and previously JoAnn Verger, who carried the water for the republican party by representing the same interests.
The paper has managed to insult all democrats and unions and, when you think about it, the voters all in one editorial. Either the editors are incompetent or they take orders from Barton & Company Consulting
You sure they are anti union? http://leeunionfree.net
Ooh, good find