Writers of letters to the editor need to be better informed; perhaps the Opinion page could step up to the challenge.
As a history writer writing about Snohomish, I sat down with the former city planner, Owen Dennison, to record his account of the Verizon application mentioned in David Clay’s letter, “City leaders need to be transparent,” for our historical society’s archives.
Here are two items I learned, that may help him to be better informed.
First: The Verizon representative met with Mr. Dennison “over-the-counter” — a term for the location in city hall where all citizens meet with staff to file permits — not in a room with the doors closed.
Second: A permit application from a wireless carrier comes with many federal rules and regulations, the important one for this discussion is that the city has 150 days to respond — far short of the year Clay claims.
That said, I’m wondering why the letter was published, even putting aside that it was signed with a clever pseudonym revealed by a simple Internet search?
The letter begins with a call for councilman Burke “to get a clue” then “to find another hobby”— yet there was no story in The Herald about Mr. Burke. What was he talking about? The essential content of the letter is a laundry list of old issues — like a jilted lover nursing old hurts.
To my mind, publishing the letter is evidence of the decline of the Fourth Estate to where the complainers get the ink — while reporting, explaining the workings of local government has become the exception.
Please consider The Herald’s responsibility and challenge of informing the David Clays of this community (and Morgan Davis) as to the doings of their local government.
That’s how the work of city leaders becomes transparent.
Warner Blake
Snohomish
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