Trust and respect compromised | Letter

I want to express my thanks and appreciation to The Journal for publishing a very thorough and informative article on the Washington Supreme Court decision and other lawsuits involving our San Juan County government. The Journal is doing exactly what a small-town newspaper should do in keeping the citizens informed on important issues we might not otherwise know about and for being a watchdog of our elected public servants.

My goodness, that was quite a soap opera of events including political favors, lying, abuse of power, a cover-up, harassment of employees and the story goes on. Sadly, the cast of characters in this drama is our elected county officials and managers. These are otherwise good people that we have trusted to do right by the citizens of our beautiful county. They are friends and neighbors to many as it always is in small towns. It is pretty clear that these public employees got caught up in a web of bad acting showing off their power and influence then scrambling to hide it all from public view in any way they could. Criminal at worst, shameful at best and overall behavior unbecoming of individuals that we know generally work hard and care about our island community.

Any way I look at it, trust and respect have been compromised. We should all expect the absolute highest standards of ethical behavior from our public servants and not the typical “sleazy” politics we so often see elsewhere.

All involved will go unpunished so it is up to the citizens of these islands to watch closely and speak loudly. To all those involved, we don’t learn from mistakes we refuse to admit to. You let down the very people who put their trust in you. San Juan County deserves better.

Lauren Cohen

San Juan Island