While reading the news on HeraldNet on Saturday, I was very surprised to see the “sponsored” paid advertisement by the Anna Rohrbough campaign citing her opinions of the events witnessed by her during a recent ride-along with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies.
What gave me serious pause was that to the “untrained eye” this may have appeared to be an actual news story by The Herald. I am, but perhaps should not be, surprised this type of paid advertising is allowed. It is not only a shameless attempt to use fear-mongering to advance her campaign, but clearly denigrates the actual purpose of a citizen law enforcement ride-along. It is my strong belief that they are not intended to be used to further one’s political campaign.
I understand Sheriff Ty Trenary has had backlash from his decision to ban citizen ride-alongs until after the election (“After a candidate’s post, Sheriff’s Office suspends ride-alongs,” The Herald, Oct. 28). I am going on record as fully supporting the sheriff’s decision. In this way, there is no chance that favorites will be played by either side of the political aisle. He was quite clear this ban would only take place for the next few weeks, a very short-time indeed. My stance lies firmly in that, instead of pointing the finger at Trenary as being the “bad guy” here, I believe the finger should be pointed solely in the direction of Ms. Rohrbough for being the impetus for this action by using this educational tool for her own political gain.
Anita Dietrich
Everett
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