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The other side of the story: Media 'owned' by Forde's opponent? Editorial by Lois Krafsky-Perry October 30, 2003 Clallam County, WA - The Sequim Gazette recently published a story "Forde sued for bad business management" in which they stated that Forde "faces a lawsuit of nearly $7,000 for not paying business bills." The headline and subheadline are both misleading, especially when one reads the story. Forde was not "sued for bad business management." The issue is over one disputed amount with the Peninsula Daily News - a dispute that has been ongoing for several years, and is now to be settled by the courts. Forde stated that the issue is in the court, and will rightly be decided there. She stated she had attempted on several occasions to settle the matter with the newspaper, and the attorney for the paper refused any settlement. The attorney stated, before witnesses, that "it would be too bad if this hit the press; it might hurt her chances of winning the race," according to Forde's husband, who had made one more effort at a settlement. A witness present at the meeting affirmed the statement made by the attorney. Forde stated the party to the lawsuit shouldn't have even been interviewed, since it's a pending court case, saying her limited responses to the attack were on advice of her counsel. The report filed in the Sequim Gazette was full of error in the "facts" presented, according to Forde, which she said may now be to her advantage in the court case Forde stated that the attacks on her by the Gazette are no surprise, due to the fact that the publisher of the Gazette, Sue Ellen Riessau, was her opponent's former campaign manager. Forde's campaign had attempted to run a paid advertisement in the Gazette disclosing this fact, but the newspaper would not allow the ad to run without significant changes that they wanted to make. The Sequim Gazette has never disclosed this fact on its own throughout the campaign. The article appeared in the last issue before the election, too late for any response, a tactic used by the L.A. Times against the Schwarzenegger campaign. The question is: will the readers see the 'game' that's being played by the local media - or will it in fact affect the outcome of the election. Meanwhile, investigation has disclosed that the building rented by the collection agency is owned by Brown Maloney, owner of the Sequim Gazette. It was also disclosed through a reliable source that "great pressure" had been brought to bear on the collection agency by John Brewer, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, to file suit against Forde in the middle of her campaign, without notice to her that it was doing so. The Forde campaign has also spoken to a number of people who stated their letters to the editor were never published, despite the Gazette's claim to "print all political letters to the editor." The paper has printed far more letters favoring Forde's opponent than letters for her or criticizing her opponent. The timing of the "hit" piece is a "blatant attempt to swing the election by the press," Forde says. Both newspapers have not served their readers well, in that they have not covered the issues in the campaign that have been brought out at numerous forums, she stated. The Peninsula Daily News, of which John Brewer is publisher, has worked hard for her opponent, too, says Forde's campaign manager, Steve Marble. "Look at what they're not reporting," he says. "They were quick to criticize Sue when she couldn't show up at their first "Meet the Press" because of a conflicting meeting and short notice. But they sure didn't fairly cover issues in any of the other many forums she attended where the issues were discussed." They misrepresented her position on the Olympic Discovery Trail early on in the campaign, indicating that she called the trail a "boondoggle", when in fact, she said she favors the trail, but believes before spending $100,000 per mile to extend the trail into sparsely populated areas takes place, the county taxpayers ought to know the cost of maintaining and policing the existing trail, Marble added. The daily's editorial editor has consistently prevented what he calls "anti-Tharinger" letters to be printed, while all manner of letters containing false statements about Sue have been allowed, Marble stated. "This is part of the 'good old boy's' club, and it needs to be opened up and exposed for the sake of the folks who live here on the Olympic Peninsula, he continued. "Neither newspaper covered the issues - like how much the proposed stormwater management plan or changes to the critical areas ordinance which will be reviewed in 2004 will cost the taxpayers of this county. Issues like the no-growth attitude of the current board, which in turn raises the cost to taxpayers, and prevents jobs from happening." I interviewed other creditors and individuals who have done business with Forde over the years, and every one of them spoke highly of both Forde's creditworthiness and good character. Ellen Buhr, former owner of Windows of Heaven Christian Bookstore, bought the business from Sue several years ago. "I have the highest regard for Sue's integrity and ability to manage a business," Ellen said. "She handled the business exceedingly well, and I still have her help with financial advice about the business from time to time." When newspapers work to control the election process and public policy rather than reporting the news, they're doing a disservice to their readers.
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