Our Civic Duty

On Monday La Conner’s Rotary Club hosted their annual Farmers and Merchants night, providing dinner to these business owners and managers and a platform for area leaders to share accomplishments, hopes and plans for 2019.

Last Wednesday mostly different speakers: Mayor Ramon Hayes, Town Administrator Scott Thomas, School Superintendent Whitney Meissner and Chamber Executive Director Heather Carter, spoke to 20 faithful citizens, most of them the usual suspects of community volunteers and activists, providing a similar summary.

The Saturday before, our Congressional representative, Rick Larsen held a community coffee with 40 people at the Civic Garden Club. The day before that Gov. Jay Inslee announced his run for the presidency.

Each of these was covered in the Weekly News. Is the paper drowning in political stories? Is there a partisan leaning?

The only bias is for reporting comprehensively gatherings of citizens and their engagement in community affairs. Forty people spent two hours with their Congressional representative, but 4,000 live in the 98257 zip code. Larsen represents part or all of four counties. People came from Anacortes and Oak Harbor to ask questions. The story was written for all the people who didn’t attend so they stay current with one elected official and the pulse of their neighbors willing to show up and share what is on their minds.

The biweekly columns from Rep. Lekanoff and Paul in the paper this legislative session are not to promote their views but to update citizens on their legislators’ activities and thinking.

Thursday I travel to Olympia to hear from state leaders and have dinner with publisher colleagues and Gov. Inslee, not to be wined and dined – $100 it costs – but to stay current with the directions state officials and a presidential candidate are heading.

Agree or disagree with a bill, law, policy or candidate and spit and curse at specific people, as any of us might, but the Weekly’s News purpose is to provide the facts and analysis, keeping the readership – you – up to date and informed.