City of Shelton Commission Meeting 4/11/11RE: APPEARANCE OF FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Bob Herr Mason County Progressive
Dear Mayor and City Commissioners,
I would like to complete my thoughts regarding your application of the AFD (Appearance of Fairness Doctrine) to your refusal to discuss your threshold determination of MDNS (Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance) for the proposed Simpson incinerator. While the AFD seeks to prevent bias and any appearance of impropriety in land use issues, and does apply to the general question "do you support the project?", I feel that its application to the specific, limited question of your threshold determination is inappropriate.
The AFD seeks to eliminate the inclusion or appearance of any bias or pre-judgment in land use hearings. It does in fact apply to SEPA appeals. However, you have chosen to not provide a process for an administrative appeal, either to your board or through a hearings examiner, of your threshold determination. How then, can you invoke the AFD as a reason not to discuss a decision that by your own policy and written decree will never be subject to an appeal through you or any assigned hearings examiner? Your reasoning is based on a hollow principle of avoiding the appearance of pre-judgment as applied to a hearing that will never exist. No administrative appeal or process, then no prejudice possible.
In itself, that point should make your contention moot. Additionally, you have clearly and inarguably made your bias on this specific question a matter of public record, by releasing the public SEPA document rejecting the request for a complete EIS. Therefore, any concerns about bias addressed by the AFD are not applicable in this situation.
Neither the citizens nor you are well served by your refusal to discuss this issue in an open forum. I do not see how your avoidance, based on the AFD, of a merit based discussion on the appropriateness of your threshold determination is a particularly compelling argument.
Bob Herr
Shelton, WA
Photo by Christine
That should simplify things for the City Council.
ReplyDeleteNow that you have explained it to them, Bob, I eagerly await their reply.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI would welcome the opportunity to forcibly deliver your letter directly to the proper official orcifice.
Oh my, Tom, how you talk!
ReplyDelete