The good and bad in Herald’s coverage of Shavers’ campaign

I believe there is good news and bad news. I must commend The Herald for having the fortitude to rescind its political endorsement of the Democratic candidate, Clyde Shavers. It was also refreshing to see a real investigative reporter, Jacqueline Allison, verify the credibility of the author of the letter that caused the Herald’s retraction to be posted prominently at the top of the editorial page.

The bad news presents itself in two ways.

First, as has been evident in the almost universal endorsement of Democratic candidates in recent editorial pages, I believe the Herald’s editorial staff endorsed Shavers simply because a “D” was attached to his name in candidate literature.

Second, because of Washington state’s mail-in and early voting system, many people had already voted for Shavers. Those votes were cast before they had the opportunity to learn of the many misrepresentations in Shavers’ public statements and campaign literature. Early voters were deceived in a most egregious manner.

Over the years, many people have been complaining about the perceived left tilt to The Herald’s editorial page policies. I believe it’s time for the Herald’s editorial staff to reevaluate its political views, and its responsibility to present both sides of the political spectrum to its readership.

John Branthoover

Arlington