Just had to pull in a line from “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix on this chilly night (actually, it’s relevant to the subject matter of this note in an oblique way, I think)…

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On Friday, 1/5, I wrote sent off two sets of comments to the P&Z and Editor of the Express addressing the Warm Springs hotel project. See the above attached .pdf files. The third comment went to P&Z only. I hope someone with good verbal skills who attends the meeting will bring up this third issue specifically.

Any thoughts on these comments are welcome. I will not attend this meeting due to more pressing projects, but wanted to share what I sent out. Consider it a verbal “drive-by” shooting.

Thanks very much.

Andrew Fitzgerald

E: fitzgerald.andrew.nelson@gmail.com

Update: One of the most prominent pundits discussing the mix of professional journalism with citizen journalism (Jeff Jarvis) writes a column for The Guardian in the U.K. I’ve excerpted a portion of his column below. Note: Editorial writers are referred to as “leader writers” or “leaders” in the Queen’s tongue so though Jeff is an American, he uses the Brit’s descriptor.

My belief is that political endorsements are an artifact of the buggywhip days that are destined for extinction or at least must evolve from the newspapers’ current paternalistic, opaque and antiquated approach.

I believe news organizations regardless of medium (TV, newspaper, Internet) should stick to the news and provide as much information as they can to inform the electorate. They can serve a valuable function if they do their job well by shedding light on where candidates stand on a variety of issues as well as investigating their track record. For some reason, unlike other media, newspapers have felt they had to have an “editorial agenda” including one that tells people how to vote. Simply on the basis of being an independent thinker, it has always rubbed me the wrong way when they attempted to tell me how I should vote. However, after becoming media savvy through working in the media business (getting inside the sausage factory, if you will), I became more disturbed at how newspaper management typically operate. I want to make the distinction clear between newspaper management and the journalists working at newspapers. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many newspaper journalists who are very diligent and are of high integrity. Unfortunately, they often work in flawed organizations where their management is pushing their personal agenda in an opaque manner.

The fundamental issue I have is a lack of transparency. Most news-gathering organizations demand transparency in the subjects they report upon, however they aren’t transparent themselves. Frankly, I’d prefer how Fox News operates where there’s no mystery they have an agenda Karl Rove agrees with. It’s easy to view their reporting and know what filter they are pouring their news through. In contrast, papers put on a charade of objectivity when in fact they are far from objective. It would be OK if a paper was transparent with their owner’s agenda and thus practiced what they preached when it came to transparency but that’s not the case today. I’ve suggested a better approach below.

These are the key questions I think any media organization should answer if they are going to put out editorial endorsements (some of these ideas are borrowed from noted pundits Jeff Jarvis and Dan Gillmor who are 20-30 year veteran magazine and newspaper journalists who are now leading thinkers in the “citizen journalism” world):
1. What exactly is their stated “editorial agenda”? I’m certain they have one but I don’t see it published in each edition of their paper.
2. Who is on their editorial board that makes endorsement decisions?
3. What business are those people in?
4. What political affiliations do they have (or not)?
5. Have they made political campaign donations?
6. How have they voted in the past?
7. What political donations have been made by the corporation?
8. If more than one person is making endorsement decisions, what were the individual votes if there wasn’t unanimity.
Add your thoughts below if I’ve missed any important questions.

If they aren’t willing to answer those reasonable and simple questions, it’s clear they have something to hide or else they would readily offer up answers. On the other hand, they may be private which I have no problem with…they just shouldn’t do political endorsements. What you may find ironic is that I am pretty sure I have agreed with more endorsements I’ve read in various newspapapers than I’ve disagreed with. For me, it’s not a matter of disagreeing with their view. Rather, I may agree with the “End” but the “Means” are intentionally deceptive taking us for fools. If they continue with the status quo, you can assume they think their readers are fools, sheep or worse. I would hope a media organization would think more of its audience. What do you think?

In Part 2, I will answer the question, “what about SunValleyOnline?” That is, how does it think about this issue? In addition, I outline why newspapers haven’t updated a practice that goes back to the buggywhip days when it may have made sense. In the meantime, if you have questions you want to ask candidates via Gary Stivers, you can suggest questions here.

Here’s a section of Jeff Jarvis’ column:

The irony of leader writers is that they commit the sins usually attributed to bloggers: they rarely report and mostly just opine and pontificate - that is, they leech off the work of other journalists. And they work anonymously. Leaders speak as the voices of institutions, issuing opinions from the mountaintop, hidden by the cloak of distance. Yet today, in our connected society, we do not trust institutions. We demand transparency. We expect conversation.

When I wrote this on my weblog, I heard the pained squeals of American leader writers. Frank Partsch, retired editorial-page editor of the Omaha World-Herald, published an op-ed in another newspaper defending the form: “An editorial, in its purest sense, is an institutional opinion, representing the views of the owner or investors - people willing each day to stand behind the leadership of the editorial page even at the risk of attracting the ire of the community and putting their investment at risk,” Partsch said, adding: “A blog entry is no more an editorial than is graffiti.”

This is particularly paradoxical in America, where journalists insist that they are objective and that they and their institutions have no point of view. And besides, newspaper owners in America are rarely members of the community anymore; they are usually shareholders in distant media conglomerates.

Full article without registration is here.

In the case of our local newspapers, they have owners in Iowa, Indiana and Canada based upon what I’ve read in their masthead and histories so they don’t have the kind of accountability one would hope for.

Later: I posted a follow-up on SunValleyOnline’s Political Endorsement Point of View

On primary election day, I wrote the post below. With elections just around the corner, I wonder if we are ready for an onslaught of phone spam from any of the commissioner candidates. Given the response the variety of comments I received, I thought I’d resurrect the post and see how people feel today. Perhaps the candidates will be reading and will go with the will of the people — whatever that is. Like/dislike phone spam? Weigh-in in the comments below. If you are part of a campaign and can declare whether you will/won’t use phone spam, I’d welcome that too.

Posted on primary election day:
When I arrived home today, there was a phone call from a local candidate for County Commissioner. It turned out to be a recorded message telling me why I should vote for that person. I wonder if others are going to be affected the way I was. With a strong group of commissioner candidates (thankfully), I’ve been looking for a tie-breaker. That candidate just gave me one. While I know that political candidates are immune from “Do Not Call” list/legislation (what a surprise that politicians would exempt themselves!), that candidate violated the peace of my household and thus won’t receive my vote. If they are willing to spend money to invade the peace of my home with a one-way broadcast (I’d feel differently if it was a personal call), will they be good stewards of our taxes, future plans, etc.? Am I going overboard? How do you feel? Please add your thoughts below. If there are enough people indicating they don’t want political phone spam, perhaps future candidates will get the message. If I’m going overboard, I’d like your take on that too.

Why am I not naming that candidate? I ascribe to the point of view outlined in SunValleyOnline’s “Our View” that I don’t want some media vehicle to tell me how to think. I can make that decision on my own. For example, I can read the interviews with each of the candidates on SunValleyOnline’s homepage and learn a lot about the candidate. Some of the candidates also have blogs where they’ve posted their points of view and are inviting people to ask them questions. As a side note, I wonder about candidates who aren’t willing to engage in a “conversation” via their blogs (at least two candidates are missing). If they are worried about comments on their blog (which they have the ability to delete if they don’t like them, by the way), do they have the backbone and receptivity to be a leader? Commissioner candidate blogs include the following (in alphabetical order):
Tammy Eaton
Dale Ewersen
James Super

I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Perhaps we can improve upon the campaign process vs. accepting the old fashioned ways of campaigning (phone spam, littering yards with signs, etc.). “Gee, I’m going to vote for this person as they had a nice yard sign that littered our landscape.” The Internet is a wonderful medium to be able to read their website, blogs, interviews, etc and get informed especially since virtually every voter has access to it. Isn’t that a better way?

My name is Mickey Garcia. As many of you know I am running for the County Commission as an Independent. Even though I am running for the District 3 seat which represents the north county the entire county votes in all the Commission races. So even if you live in Picabo you can still vote in the District 3 race.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be blogging with my position on many issues. In the meantime if you want to talk about the issues in the County feel free to call me on my cell phone at 208-721-2712.

Thanks,

Mickey

It seemed no sooner than the festive banners with Ketchum’s newly minted, tourist enticing, logo “Small town Big Life” were displayed on the street, than Mr. “Big Life” came striding out of the shadows of Fifth Street holding a shotgun.

It was the trailing edge of night, shortly after 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning. My fellow cashier and I on the graveyard shift were taking a break, sitting on separate sides of the Veltex store’s entrance doors. As the gunner suddenly emerged form the shadows, I identified his weapon and instinctively arose and began to move around to the rear of an older minivan parked directly in front of me, attempting to put some obstruction between myself and the gunner.

My coworker, having not yet spotted the intruder, got up and put her cigarette out with her back to him. When she turned around, the gunner, with a flourish of emphasis and determination pumped a shell into the chamber of the lever action 12-gauge shotgun and leveled the barrel, point blank, with the end of the barrel less than two feet from her face and chest. In a menacing growl he demanded that she “get in there.” With surprising outward calm and composure, she answered “OK” and walked into the store.

While the gunner was still occupied outside, displaying a great deal of “sang-froid,” she walked straight to the back of the store and told an employee who was working in the rear office to call the police. Once he realized he wasn’t joking, he immediately called the police.

As my coworker entered the store, the gunner remained outside and pointed the shotgun toward me across the top of the minivan and ordered me inside. I refused to move from behind the minivan saying “no way Jose.” Angry that I couldn’t make him disappear, and angry that I was unarmed, I shouted at him while he was still pointing his weapon at me. “Put down that f- gun. Take everything you want. And get the f- out of here.”

The gunner and I repeated our argument of conflicting orders about three times which probably lasted about two minutes. At one point, I shouted at him, “what the f-’s the matter with you? We’re just poor people trying to make a living. Put that f- gun down.” At one point, he ordered me to “get in there and everything will be alright.” but I instinctively knew that it would be better to be winged by him shooting while chasing me around the minivan, than to be slaughtered point blank inside the store. To my astonishment, the gunner abruptly turned away from me and entered the store. He again leveled the shotgun point blank at my coworker and demanded beer. I believe he got away with a 12-pack of warm Keystone, dropping two cans as he fled.

When the gunner entered the store, I immediately fled around the front of Shanghai Place and into space between building, intending to cross the alley and get to a nearby workplace phone, not realizing that the cops had already been called. The Ketchum police and a county deputy arrived promptly and apprehended the gunner and found his weapon and the stolen SUV that his accomplices had abandoned.

I felt extremely lucky that my coworker and I weren’t splattered all over the store and parking lot. I was expecting the gunner to pull the trigger at any time during the ordeal.

Later, I realized that my futile argument with the gunner felt similar to futile arguments that I had in recent years with other entities holding temporary power and intent on using it in a dysfunctional manner. City councils, planning and zoning commissions, county commissions, and abusive managers came immediately to mind.

The robbery also reminded me that I had voted for failed Blaine County jail improvement bond issues a number of times. I had worked as a correctional officer some decades ago in California and long ago had realized that the Blaine County Jail was unsafe for correctional staff, for inmates and for the public. The robbery also reminded me that in recent years, in south Idaho, violent juveniles have escaped from makeshift jails and murdered innocent victims immediately after escaping.

In my opinion, Blaine County needs a new jail and an attached but separate juvenile detention facility, along with enough extra cells to rent to the state and other counties so that the annual cost of operation and maintenance would not be paid by Blaine County taxpayers.

As in the past, Gary Stivers will be conducting interviews of candidates for the races in November. We are going to use a new format and need your input. What questions would you like us to ask the candidates (or the people running the pro/anti Prop 2 campaigns)? If we get more questions than there is time for, we’ll ask the SunValleyOnline community to vote on which are highest priority. Please post the questions you’d like asked below or email them to letters@sunvalleyonline.com.

As some have read before, we don’t believe in doing candidate endorsements. Read “Our View” and for commentary on that as well as what we see as the flaws (and solutions) for newspaper endorsements in The death of antiquated newspaper political endorsements Part 1 and Part 2. We think highly of the voters in the Wood River Valley and believe that if we provide a forum for various viewpoints and information, you are more than capable of making your own decision regarding how to vote (i.e., we don’t need to tell you). One of the most gratifying comments we receive on nearly a daily basis is that we’ve enabled a level of discussion that has been absent and allows people to become more informed about what’s going on in the valley. We just provide a venue. It’s you, the SunValleyOnline community, that brings it to life. We appreciate any and all input on how we can facilitate a valuable “conversation” amongst valley voters.

What do you want to ask county commissioner candidates?
What do you want to ask the pro/anti Prop 2 leaders?
What do you want to ask the candidates for governor?
Have I missed any key races?

For about a decade now, I have been doing Pro-Bono work for “Smarter than Smart Growth”. “Smarter than Smart Growth” would prefer not to be confused with “Citizens for Smart Growth” or “Citizens for Smart Government” regardless of what font is used.

However like “Citizens for Smart Government”, “Smarter than Smart Growth” supports Proposition 2 because it strikes at the Soviet-style central Land-planning techniques that the cultural elite, who have a stranglehold on local government, have adopted. “Smarter than Smart Growth” favors individual liberty over governmental land planning, and believes that individuals should be compensated when the government down zones or otherwise encumbers their private property values.

Prop 2 is not perfect legislation but I see it as behavior modification for those busy body, control freak, word generating bureaucrats masquerading as environmentalists and land use planners..

After considerable thought, weighing the pros and cons and some sleepless nights, I have made a difficult decision. In good conscience, I will not support Proposition 2. Although I am in agreement with the eminent domain portion and some of the language regarding regulatory takings, the lack of flexibility afforded local government is a serious shortcoming. Some difficult land use planning decisions for Blaine County will need to be made in the future. Under the constant threat of significantly higher property taxes to pay for claims, it will be very difficult for commissioners to plan correctly. My gut feeling, regardless of speculation to the contrary, is that the amount of litigation as a result of Proposition 2 will be incredible.

So how should individuals, who may be affected by devaluation of their property due to a land use planning decision, be approached? Invite them to the table early in the process to see if common ground for negotiation and dialogue can be established. By respecting the landowner’s position, hopefully an agreement will be reached and litigation avoided.

Several months ago I made it clear how I felt about 2025. Here is my position again: The down zoning was unnecessary and may have financially damaged a considerable number of people. No emergency existed and the entire process was crammed into a narrow time frame, without ample time for vetting the ordinances, to meet the dates of the moratorium.

However, coupling legislation with a significant deficiency (Proposition 2) with legislation that was unnecessary (2025) is not the answer. In other words, two wrongs don’t make a right!

The bottom line is that on November 7th, I’ll vote ‘NO’ on Proposition 2.

Thank you- Dale

By now I hope that most of you out there have heard of Prop 2, Idaho’s property rights proposition on the ballot this November. Prop. 2 GIVES YOU the property owner protection from out of control local government that have crushed property rights, especially here in Blaine County. 2025 which was spearheaded by local County Commissioners Sarah Michael and Tom Bowman takes property without compensation from hard working citizens in our community and in many cases may cause acres and acres of private property to become worthless.

I have read article after article by hysterical Anti Prop 2 spin-Meister’s who claim that SEMPRA style Coal Fired Electric plants will be built next to day care centers, Chemical Plants will be built next high schools and gravel mines will instantly pop up next to your home! Hell! A CAFO just might pop up next to Ketchum City Hall! The funny thing about all this Anti Prop 2 hysteria is that NEVER and I mean NEVER do any of them ever cite the supposed part of Prop 2 that does all these horrific things. Why don’t they cite the chapter and verse? That’s easy to answer. IT DOESN’T EXIST!

My friend, Sun Valley councilman Nils Ribi and I are on opposite sides of this issue. I like Nils and I think Nils is one of the best elected officials in our community but even he has been over taken by Anti-Prop 2 fever.

Said Nils in an Op-Ed piece in todays Mt. Express “Therefore, when they want to build an ag-chemical plant next to your child’s school, a gravel pit next to your home, or a massive condo project that blocks all the sunlight to your home, or anything else prohibited under present or future zoning regulations, and if they were refused at the zoning level, they can make a claim for cash for their self-proclaimed losses. ”

Nils my friend you know that is just not true. You cannot point to the chapter and verse of Prop 2 and say “See, here it is, right here. This is what allows all these things” Nils you know it doesn’t exist and I am suggesting that your emotions have gotten the best of you here.

Nils goes on to say “In addition, our residential property values and our quality of life will go down because the zoning regulations that used to protect us from harmful and/or conflicting uses next to our homes will no longer be available to protect us when local government has to abandon the regulations because they can’t pay the imaginary value of any property owner’s claim. ”

Again Nils THIS IS NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT! Come on buddy lets not let the facts get in the way here. I don’t mind debating the issue but you are making things up. Chemical Plants next to schools?

EVERYONE: Prop 2 has NO LOOK BACK. Ordinances in place in November are not affected by Prop 2. Its right there in black and white. There is no look-back. Whatever laws are on the books stay on the books. Prop 2 DOES NOT throw out the P&Z code book.

To prove this point in the same issue of the Mt. Express today there is an article titled. Sun Valley set to pre-empt Proposition 2. In this article Sun Valley Community Development Director Mark Hofman says “(If) Proposition 2 passes, these will already be in place,” Hofman said, explaining that land-use regulations passed before the regulatory takings initiative would not be affected by the change in law. ”

HUH?? What was that??? You guys can’t even get your stories straight! The laws that Sun Valley are jamming down the pipe will “not be affected by the change in law!” Nils can you explain that? That is not what you said. Mark Hofman, your colleague Contradicts what you say! Which leads me to this conclusion.

Local elected officials are racing, frantically to pass everything but the kitchen sink to STICK IT TO YOU, the VOTER! They don’t want you to have any property rights. They don’t want you to have any leverage or due process at all when they take your property or greatly reduce its value. Ketchum, Sun Valley, Hailey and Blaine County leaders are all working overtime to pass Draconian laws. Why? Because despite the hysterical, fantastic rhetoric of Coal Fired power plants next to day care centers they know that the laws on the books in November will not be affected by Prop 2. In the meantime they will use scare tactics to make you think otherwise.

One thing that I do agree with Nils on is this. Says Nils, “If they want to change direction, they have the freedom to elect different leaders.” I will also add that if we want to change direction we can not only elect different leaders but we can also also vote for Prop 2.

If you own Property in Blaine County you have only one choice in November. YES on PROP 2!

Additional Reading:

Idaho Prop 2 official language.

In particular:

Section 4, Paragraph 6 of Prop 2. WHERE PROP 2 will not fly. No Chemical Plants getting past the “public health and safety” in (a), or past (c) Required by federal law.

(6) Subsection (5) of this section shall not apply to land use laws:

(a) Limiting or prohibiting a use or division of real property for the protection of public health and safety, such as fire and building codes, health and sanitation regulations, traffic control, liquor controls solid or hazardous waste regulations, and pollution control regulations;

(b) Limiting or prohibiting a use or division of real property commonly and historically recognized as a public nuisance under common law;

(c) Required by federal law;

In the first part of this two-part post, I outlined the opaque and paternalistic practice of newspaper editorial endorsements that should go the way of the dinosaurs and suggested an approach that would better serve its audience. So you might ask, what about SunValleyOnline? We addressed this in “Our View” if you’d like more detail on why we don’t do political endorsements. In fact, it was the very issue of political endorsements that spawned SunValleyOnline’s blogs to begin with. Roughly a year ago, I was informally advising SunValleyOnline while I was consulting on Tracy Lotz’s travel business when the issue of political endorsements came up (they were about to make their endorsements). Though I didn’t have a “vote”, they were very receptive to my feedback that I thought the whole political endorsement process was flawed and antiquated not to mention unique to newspapers.

In the information age, it’s relatively easy to get information to the electorate unlike the buggywhip days when newspaper endorsements began. Perhaps it made sense when information flow was so restricted. In contrast, I was seeing the rapid rise of “citizen journalism” embodied in blogging that was having a dramatic effect on the national scene and suggested SunValleyOnline invite candidates and citizens to exchange information in an egalitarian manner. This would mean everyone gets an equal voice, not just the powerful/connected. Little did SunValleyOnline know that the blogs would strike such a chord where people who had been stifled by old media finally had an opportunity to be heard. This would be a nice complement to the professional journalism as practiced by Gary Stivers.

From time to time, people look at SunValleyOnline through the traditional media lens and say “gee, isn’t having Tracy Lotz blog just like what the paper is doing?” My answer is a big N-O. Why? [Update: Tracy Lotz sold his stake in SVO in September of 2007 a year after this was written]

1. Tracy gets exactly the same visibility as any other blogger (it’s worth noting that he’s written only about 5% of all posts on the SunValleyOnline blogs). For that matter, commenters on more than one occasion have ripped Tracy. When is the last time you saw an unedited letter directed at the owner of a local paper? [Hint: Never] Tracy has yet to delete one of those comments that shredded him. If more people read him, it’s simply because people find him entertaining or he has struck a chord. His blog shows up just like the 70+ other bloggers down the lefthand side of this page.
2. Tracy is very, very transparent about his political beliefs, business affiliations, etc. For example, you’d have to be seriously clueless to not know that he has previously been a leader within the Idaho GOP and there’s little mystery how he has and will vote (he’s already weighed in on the commissioner race). You can choose to buy into what he’s saying or not but there’s no secret where he stands. He willingly breaks bread with others not sharing his political views such as at the pizza gathering last week.
3. As I’ve stated on numerous occasions, every blogger is their own “editor” that can establish their own guidelines. There is no overall editor of the blogs. The byproduct of that is the dialogue is unfiltered and sometimes raw. Like the TV remote, if you think a particular blogger is full of it, you can ignore them. The feedback has been overwhelming that people prefer we keep things unfiltered including blogs related to political races.

All of these things are a sharp contrast to how most papers operate. That said, SunValleyOnline is always evolving based upon the feedback we get. Just in the last week, a noted community leader gave us feedback that we might be inadvertently stifling them from participating in the “conversation”. Since that is the polar opposite of SunValleyOnline’s goal, that feedback was taken to heart. I can guarantee you we’ll make some mistakes or stumble every once and awhile. Getting this right will be a journey, not a destination. We look forward to you letting us know privately or in this open forum when you think we’ve stumbled and how we can do a better job. As a wise person once said, “God gave us two ears and one mouth…use them in that proportion”. There’s a corollary I often state — “Silence is acceptance”. We are listening.

Share your thoughts below or email me at dave -at- [sunvalleyonline) - dot {com}. You can also call me at (208) 578-4042.

Prop 2 has qualified for the Idaho state ballot in November, creating fear, loathing and high anxiety in the halls of local government. The planning Fascists’ knee jerk response is clear; steal as many property rights as possible before Prop. 2 passes. For those of us who believe that private property needs protection from uncompensated, arbitrary expropriation by local government fiat, it is time to protest forcefully as local politicians attempt to perpetrate this heist.

Although a Mountain Express editorial blames Prop. 2 on “fringe republicans” , it runs far deeper than that. Prop. 2, along with Oregon Measure 37 passed in 2004, herald a gathering backlash against the despotic use of local government’s “police” powers to monopolize and curtail the use of undeveloped private land without compensating the owners. Actually, “fringe” Republicans, al-Queda, the Taliban, and land use planning fascists have more in common than you might think.

They all have great contempt for personal freedom, individual liberty, and equal protection under the law. They all have a fanatical belief in their respective causes based on faith and emotion rather than reason and evidence. Prop. 2 resets the imbalance between local government, power and individual property rights in the land use arena. Contrary to predictions of chaos and calamity, Prop. 2 does not dismantle reasonable environmental restrictions or permit incompatible uses. Nor does Prop. 2 threaten the 1,400,000 acres (82%) of Blaine County land owned by the federal and state government which will never be developed.

County Commissioner Larry Schoen responded to some questions and statements I made on another blog about his support for 2025 and what appeared to be a “Flip Flop” on the subject. Larry and voters can discuss it on this blog. Below are the first three posts.

Thanks

Tracy

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Larry Schoen Says:

September 5th, 2006 at 10:48 pm e
Regarding Tracy Lotz post of August 31, 2006, “…Can you say flip flop?”:

The primary was May 23.

I quote from the Mountain Express, Wednesday, May 3, lead story:

“The Blaine County 2025 plan…cleared its first hurdle last week when the county Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of four proposed ordinances.

“The recommendation Thursday April 27, capped off an intense review process….”

Thus, I cast my difficult votes on four controversial ordinances weeks before the primary. Let us rely on facts when they are available.

I, too, am always freely available to discuss any issue. I much prefer talking in person, with individuals or groups. My home number is in the book and my office number has been published many times in newspaper ads. I like to do my homework before expressing opinions and you can be sure you will know my positions and proposals on many of the issues before the election, so you can make informed choices. No matter how I choose to communicate with the public, I will be criticized. Blogs are one medium and have their strengths and shortcomings like any other. Both are in evidence above. Having observed politics up close for many years I have learned one thing. As the candidate, I get to run and be responsible for, my campaign. I do appreciate the opportunity to remind readers of the record.

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Tracy Lotz Says:

September 6th, 2006 at 9:52 am e
Larry,

Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate you clarifying the dates. While you have clairfied the details of the dates of your votes there is still a problem in my mind about you “flip flopping” on 2025.

In the April 21 edition of the Mt. Express you were taken to the Woodshed by John Stevenson, John Peavey and Dean Rogers.

As reported in the Express:

“John Stevenson, John Peavey and Dean Rogers—all Blaine County farmers and ranchers—also criticized Larry Schoen, chairman of the Blaine County Planning and Zoning