Opinion by Rick Nelson
I just have a hard time anymore with elections. I've been covering them since 1974, and it has been a long time.
As a voter, I learned a long time ago not to show my hand too early, for there would always be something to show up at the last minute. Also, for us in the media, at least the little old Eagle, there is always somebody wanting a last minute comment.
In the past, we've adopted a policy that there would be no last minute campaign letters, that is, in the final week before the election, for the other side wouldn't have the opportunity to respond. I didn't announce that policy this year, and look at the pile of letters we received, most on Tuesday, many just a couple hours before deadline.
One is from Commissioner Dan Cothren, who is seeking re-election. I had hesitantly accepted a week previously a letter from Wayne Flohr, who is running against Cothren, so here is Cothren's response. I tried to edit out the portions that didn't respond to Flohr's letter, for otherwise there's no time for response from Flohr.
Some last minute election thoughts: Commercial fishermen dismayed by Gov. Chris Gregoire's appointments to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission have been courting GOP candidate Dino Rossi. Their dismay must have mounted earlier this month when Rossi held a media event in Kelso to announce fish policies and the invited guest speakers included big names in the sport fishing community, which has been advocating a steadily decreasing opportunity for the commercial fishing industry. The Rossi campaign followed that with a mailing last weekend showing Rossi's endorsement by the Rod and Reel News and Gary Loomis of Loomis Outdoors.
"I am honored to have the endorsement of famed equipment manufacturer and legend Gary Loomis as well as the endorsement of the Reel News, which is Jim Goerg's and Jim Tuggle's leading publication for outdoor enthusiasts who share our common goals of preservation and enhancement of quality fisheries and wildlife," Rossi said on the mailer.
That can't have made commercial fishermen comfortable with Rossi's potential actions.
Meanwhile, public officials in Wahkiakum, Cowlitz and Pacific counties got Gregoire's attention last summer with resolutions seeking redress and change in the way spring salmon fishies were managed. She responded by forming a group of recreational and commercial fishers to advise the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the fish and wildlife commission, and this month sent department head Jeff Koenigs to Cathlamet to talk about issues. Local officials stressed that both segments are important and should be promoted. Koenigs responded that the department goals are to promote harvest and enhance the salmon species.
So the question becomes, "Who do you trust?"
The Wahkiakum County Eagle Location: 77 Main Street,
Mail: P.O. Box 368,
Cathlamet, WA 98612
Phone: 360-795-3391 Fax: 360-795-3983
