Opinion
A4
Saturday, July 2, 2022
OUR VIEW
Council decision
highlights how
democracy works
T
here were and are a lot of good things
to point out in the recent decision by the
Elgin City Council to move ahead on a
new contract with the Union County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce.
Readers may recall the city council pondered
an idea to create its own police force recently,
voting in May not to renew its contract with the
sheriff ’s offi ce for enhanced law enforcement ser-
vices and announcing plans to add back its own
police department, one it disbanded about 10
years ago.
The sheriff ’s offi ce tasks three deputies for
Elgin coverage, and a new city police department
was projected to start with a chief and one offi cer.
That decline in numbers was just one of a series
of key questions that haunted the idea for a sep-
arate police force. Another issue was cost, and it
was debatable whether — in the long run — cre-
ating a new, separate police force would be as
cost eff ective as continuing a contract with the
sheriff ’s offi ce.
The June 21 decision by the council was a
good one, and Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen
should be lauded for going back to the drawing
board and crafting a new contract that was more
aff ordable and less arduous for the city.
Another good element to the meeting was the
number of residents who showed up. Elgin City
Hall was packed, and for good reason. Residents
— voters — did the right thing by attending and
giving input in a constructive manner.
Elgin City Councilor Teresa Hylton-Shaff er’s
plea to residents to attend council meetings often
and not just when there is a major issue to debate
was also well-reasoned.
Residents should, when possible, attend city
council sessions. We often vote for our elected
leader and then sort of turn down the volume and
let them handle things. Democracy works only
when there is a healthy give-and-take between
voters and their elected representatives. The
council session regarding the sheriff ’s offi ce
contract was a perfect example of democracy
working exactly the way it is supposed to, but
Hylton-Shaff er is correct: More people need to
attend council sessions on a regular basis.
Another positive piece to the decision by the
council is how elected leaders — the council,
the mayor and the sheriff — seemingly worked
together to fi nd a way to overcome a potential
challenge. That’s what voters expect from their
representatives.
All and all, this time our elected leaders made
the right decision at the right time.
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Striving to deliver ‘just the facts’
ANDREW
CUTLER
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
S
ince at least 2015 the ability of
Americans to trust their media
outlets has slowly eroded, cre-
ating profound questions about the
future of our democracy.
In addition to that trend, many
Americans have stepped back from
reviewing information in a value-free
manner and simply retreated into
whatever ideological silo they happen
to feel most comfortable with.
That, too, is not good news for our
democracy.
Coming up through the ranks in
the journalism business, one theme
I remember having the most impact
was the notion of delivering “just the
facts.”
More than 20 years ago that
seemed like a pretty easy thing to
do. If I was deployed to cover a car
accident, I knew there was a cer-
tain number of facts I needed to
acquire. When did the accident
happen, where did it happen, how did
it happen? Who was involved? Was
anyone hurt? If so, how serious were
their injuries?
Easy questions with, ideally, easy
answers. I used the same template
when I tackled larger, more complex
stories as I moved up the journalism
food chain. I focused on the old
“who, what, when, where and how”
theme that is, or was, a key part of
journalism in America.
Yet, over the past six years or so
there has been a troubling and serious
backlash against what the facts are.
The nation has dropped into a kind
of bizarre Alice in Wonderland arena
where “facts” may not be “facts” at
all. Or “facts” are manipulated. Or, at
times, outright lies are substituted for
facts. Lies that can probably be shown
to be inaccurate. Often, that doesn’t
seem to matter.
I am concerned because, natu-
rally, I take factual reporting seri-
ously. While neither I, nor EO Media
Group, can change America, we can
make a diff erence in our little piece
of the Republic. That’s why I empha-
size the “just the facts” mantra so
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Andrew Cutler is the interim editor of The
Observer and the regional editorial director for
the EO Media Group, overseeing The Observer,
East Oregonian and four more newspapers in
Eastern Oregon.
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford offi ce: 541-776-4646
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
STATE SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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much to the great group of reporters
and editors we have. Now, more than
ever, we must not let any type of bias
intrude into our reporting.
In the past, such notions were
seen as “something we should always
try to watch” but I don’t believe now
that is appropriate. It’s much more
important than that. No, now, as
journalists the stakes — even out
here in Eastern Oregon — are just
too high. Not only is the very nature
of democracy at stake, but so is the
ability to build on our readers’ trust.
If we are to be criticized, I don’t want
it to be because there is an obvious
bias in a story.
I think what we do is important,
and I believe our biggest strength
is our readers. Readers deserve to
be respected and they deserve to be
delivered stories that do not con-
tain bias and are, in the end, “just the
facts.”
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