Community leaders call out city-sponsored RFA flier, saying it’s biased
Community leaders are criticizing a city-sponsored flier on the Regional Fire Authority proposed for Olympia and Tumwater, saying the mailing is biased in favor of the proposal.
The two cities sent out a glossy fact sheet on the proposal, which includes Frequently Asked Questions on one side and “Regional Fire Authority Priorities” on the other.
But Russ Lehman, a former Olympia School Board member, wrote in a letter that the flier which should have been unbiased shows “elicit support” for the RFA. He said it could be a violation of campaign law, since it was taxpayer funded.
Lehman’s letter was published in the Journal of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater on April 6.
“I am troubled and saddened by the flier as it is clearly intended to promote the ballot measure, despite its statement that it is ‘for informational purposes only,’” he wrote.
Lehman said the four priorities listed on the flier include similar language to that used by the groups who have argued in favor of the ballot measure. The same points have been contested by those in opposition to the measure, but the potential deficits of forming an RFA or the lack of one aren’t listed in the flier, he says.
Lehman said he was a member of the state Public Disclosure Commission when, in 2019, the City of Olympia had a complaint filed against it in a similar situation. It ended with former City Manager Steve Hall paying a $10,000 fine.
He said he would not be surprised if another complaint against the city came because of the fliers.
Sandra Herndon, a member of the Thurston County League of Women Voters, wrote a letter to The Olympian agreeing with Lehman’s letter. She said as she read the flier sent out by the two cities, she kept expecting to see arguments against the measure but only found ones for it.
“This mailing, at public expense, is highly inappropriate,” she said. “It raises ethical and legal issues about the decision to send it as an informational document when it is so clearly one-sided.”
Herndon told The Olympian she is a former debate teacher, and there’s no such thing as a one-sided case. She said she’s glad she got to watch last week’s televised forum on the RFA because she got to hear both sides of the argument.
Lisa Parshley, an Olympia council member who has been campaigning for the RFA, said the city of Olympia is very careful when it comes to campaign literature, especially after getting into trouble before. Parshley said she’s started to hear concerns about the fliers, but she says all that’s included in them are facts.
She said she’s not worried about any complaints being filed. She said nowhere does the flier tell people whether or not to vote for the measure.
Ballots were mailed to voters this past week, and the election deadline is Tuesday, April 25.
This story was originally published April 8, 2023 at 5:05 AM.
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