Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance has some advice for county officials hiding from police report findings

Ken Vance, editor
Clark County Today

I’ve been a journalist for more than 38 years now. I have no idea of how many stories and columns I’ve written over the years but it’s obviously in the 1000s. When you produce that much content, it’s virtually impossible not to make an error now and then. I know I’ve made my share in my career, which now spans almost four full decades.

In addition to my own mistakes over those nearly 40 years, as an editor over the past 15 years I’ve had to be responsible for errors made by the reporters and other staff members who I work with. 

When I was a young reporter, I worked at night and my editor worked early in the morning. We didn’t have email or mobile phones back then, so the way he would let us know if we made a mistake was by leaving a note on a half sheet of paper in our mailbox. I used to dread seeing one of those sticking out of my box when I got to work in the late afternoon. And, we all know the written word can often convey a more critical tone than if the message was delivered in person. As much as I respected and appreciated that editor, he wasn’t so concerned about the delicate feelings of his reporters when they messed up.

It wasn’t until later in my career that I was taught how to properly and effectively deal with a mistake. It was my mentor and former employer Marvin Case (longtime owner of The Reflector Newspaper), who enlightened me. Marvin’s attitude was simple. We all make mistakes. Own it, fix it, and move on. As long as we followed that formula and didn’t repeat the mistake, we were fine in his eyes.

I share this anecdote because I think some of our Clark County leaders need to adopt Marvin’s philosophy. We recently shared with you that a report from a Skamania County Sheriff’s Office deputy determined that four of the Clark County councilors and County Manager Kathleen Otto violated rules when they booted County Councilor Michelle Belkot from the C-TRAN Board of Directors in March.

The report, written by Det. Christian Lyle of the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, recommends that Clark County Chair Sue Marshall, as well as councilors Wil Fuentes, Glen Yung, and Matt Little, should be fined for the violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. Lyle added that County Manager Kathleen Otto “could be charged” with a violation of Revised Code of Washington 9A.80.010, Official Misconduct, for failing to act. If not charged, Lyle recommends a letter of reprimand for Otto for “not properly performing her duties as the County Manager.”

The SCSO was asked by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the complaint that was filed by Rob Anderson of Reform Clark County after the Clark County Council removed Belkot from the C-TRAN Board in March and replaced her with Fuentes. Anderson alleged that the County Council did not follow proper procedures.

Lyle agreed.

The report was forwarded to the office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik. The report’s recommendations are not binding. 

“Our office has received the report from Skamania Co.,” Golik texted Clark County Today. “Our office has determined we have a conflict and we will ask an outside prosecutor’s office to review the Skamania County report.”

Michelle Belkot said she appreciates the work done by the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

“I hope the PA’s office does take corrective action to make this right and reappoint me to the C-TRAN board,” Belkot told Clark County Today. “I think it’s ethically the right thing to do.’’

That is where we left the story on Nov. 7. Ten days later, not a single county official has responded to multiple inquiries from Clark County Today. We’ve given each of the four councilors and the county manager time to respond. We’ve also made multiple attempts to get a response from the county spokesperson and we’ve followed up with Golik multiple times to see  which outside office he has asked to review the Skamania County report. This inaction comes after the four councilors and county manager repeatedly attempted to stonewall the investigator last summer before finally agreeing to cooperate, albeit reluctantly.

So, absolutely no one at the county has accepted responsibility for their actions, let alone fix the problem they created by reinstating Belkot to the C-TRAN Board of Directors. So, we are nowhere close to being able to move on from this embarrassment even though Vancouver Mayor Anne-McEnerny-Ogle and Vancouver Council Member Erik Paulsen have publicly bragged about the entire scheme that led to the investigation.

Tuesday (Nov. 18) will be an interesting day in this ongoing saga, which has now lasted more than eight months. There are scheduled meetings of both the County Council and the C-TRAN Board of Directors. Clark County Today will monitor both and report on any developments in this story. Hopefully, those involved will take the approach I suggest. Own it, fix it, and move on before they no longer have that opportunity.

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