Water balloons versus public forums

THIS ARTICLE IS COMMENTARY AND PUBLISHED IN OUR EDITORIAL SECTION.

Public accountability comes into question with obvious boycott of community forum

By Randy Arrington, publisher

Local election cycles are hard for the public to ignore, with a flood of political signs dotting the landscape and the obvious public appearances that draw elected officials to events all over the county, from getting doused by water balloons on the beach of Lake Arrowhead to a long line of ribbon cuttings for new businesses, walking trails and special occassions. Unfortunately, some on the ballot this fall are choosing to ignore some rather important events.

When the event allows the candidate to control the situation, it seems to draw a lot of grip-and-grin politics — but when the event poses candid questions and asks incumbents to be accountable for their actions…crickets…at least when it comes to the majority of our current constitutional officers.

After a week of being admonished by members of the Page County Board of Supervisors during open session, our constitutional officers then decided (seemingly collectively) to boycott a public forum hosted by “Know Your Local Candidates, Page County” at Trackside Theater on Thursday evening. Many noted the absences in their comments on the social media platform, and applauded those who participated.

During the supervisors’ Aug. 28 meeting, Commissioner of Revenue Becky Smith got scolded for not bringing an update to the standards for determining tax relief for the elderly to the board sooner. Smith stated that the document that hadn’t been touched since 2006 was “in dire need of an update.” The supervisors then questioned why this had waited 13 years before being brought back before the board, and while they received no direct answer from the two-term commissioner, Smith did say that all of the assessments in this program would be done in-house by Dec. 1 and she recommended that the standards be reviewed more often.

Near the end of last week’s meeting, the supervisors wanted answers from Clerk of the Circuit Court Grayson Markowitz about the backlogs in processing orders written by a judge. The backlog cost the county unnecessarily (in housing inmates) and even exposed the county to civil liability.

Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Cave, who is unopposed this election cycle, quickly took the stand to explain orders, why they got backlogged and what has been done to fix the problem. The uncontested incumbent also took the blame, did not challenge supervisors when they scolded him. Cave took it, apologized, and pledged that these problems were behind us. Markowitz offered the same pledge, minus the apology.

Even Sheriff Chad Cubbage got pulled into the conversation last week, as the discussion noted how the extra costs of housing inmates affected the sheriff’s budget — an almost annual discussion over the last eight years between the sheriff and the supervisors over fiscal issues and overspent funds. During one such discussion about two years ago, Sheriff Cubbage simply walked out of of the board room rather than continue to answer their questions.

On Thursday, a public forum was held at Trackside Theater by a non-profit, grassroots organization trying to get more information about the candidates on the November ballot out to the voters of Page County. Ten candidates on the local ballot attended, four of the eight absences were noticeable:

• Treasurer Penny Gray (unopposed);
• Commissioner of Revenue Becky Smith;
• Clerk of the Court Grayson Markowitz;
• Sheriff Chad Cubbage.

The other four absentees are all unopposed, one on the board of supervisors and three on the school board. The obvious boycott by four of the five constitutional officers (Cave attended the forum) seems to support a rumor that the sitting incumbents have agreed collectively not to attend forums or debates.

The same held true when Becky Smith was invited to attend the first of four recorded debates planned among candidates in contested races that Page Valley News intends to broadcast on its new YouTube channel, launching Sept. 20.

“Mr. Arrington, I will not be participating in any debates against my challenger, recorded or otherwise. I believe that my record over the past eight years, along with the tremendous outpouring of support I have gotten from the community, speaks volumes,” Smith replied to the invite for the PVN debate.

PVN plans to record four separate debates — focusing on one race at a time — with no audience and no editing. Much of the format will be similar to the forum held Thursday night, although civil back-and-forth discussion will be allowed.

When pitching the debate to candidates (only two races have been approached at this time), we sold it as an opportunity to sit candidates side-by-side to talk intelligently about the issues key to the office they are seeking.

“I can assure you that my 35 years of experience and Master Certification has prepared me to ‘speak intelligently on issues that are relevant and important to the office’ I am seeking,” Smith stated in her reply. “My door is always open to my constituents; I can also be reached via email, Facebook, or phone. I love speaking to my fellow residents, sharing stories, and helping them with any questions they may have. A recorded political debate is not an appropriate forum in which to do so.”

So, it seems it’s more important to sit underneath a water ballon on the beach of Lake Arrowhead to gain public attention, than it is to sit before the voters and answer questions. During a charity fundraiser, Page County’s constitutional officers were five-for-five in showing up to be doused with water balloons, but they were a meager one-for-five in attendance at the public forum.

Sheriff Cubbage reached out to us this week for more information about the debates, but stated he would wait for the details before making a decision. We encouraged him to take the opportunity to show why he should be re-elected sheriff — anyone seeking a role as important as that should be held accountable for their eight years in office. It’s also interesting how the sheriff released a four-part, professionally produced and scripted political video series the day after skipping the public forum at Trackside.

We ask each of you to encourage those on the ballot to participate in these debates. As we stated to the candidates, we are not out to embarrass anyone or play “gotcha” journalism. We simply want to have an intelligent conversation about the issues important to the office they seek.

So, if you see Becky, or Chad, or Grayson out on the street, encourage them to come out and show why they make good leaders. Anyone who can’t talk publicly, unscripted, about the issues surrounding a public position they seek, probably doesn’t deserve that position.

Even if our videos only get 10 views, we feel the effort is worth it. It’s truly a shame that our elected officials don’t feel the same way.

At last count, the forum hosted by “Know Your Local Candidates, Page County” had more than 3,000 views…and counting.

To view the Sept. 7 public forum, CLICK HERE.

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