Silence isn't always golden

Elected officials owe you explanations.

That’s right. Even the elected officials serving in volunteer capacities have a responsibility to explain to you, the taxpayer/constituent/voter, the reasoning or justification behind their actions.

That’s accountability. It’s communication. It’s transparency. It’s an essential ingredient in every good governance recipe.

While that may seem obvious, two other “ious"es arise as possibilities here: oblivious or, worse, devious.

The three controlling members of the North Idaho College Board of Trustees, Todd Banducci, Greg McKenzie and Michael Barnes, have kept a fairly secure lid on public comment in their meetings. The message there is they really don’t want to hear what you think.

OK, got it. But that doesn’t explain why the trio refuse to answer questions about their actions.

Those questions abound. Why fire a president for “no cause,” incurring not just massive additional expense but the potential for a large legal settlement?

What is their reaction to an investigation into their fractured leadership that could ultimately cost NIC accreditation? How are they specifically addressing the concerns that threaten accreditation?

Why did they hire the wrestling coach, a personal friend of Banducci’s, as interim college president without interviewing any of the nine on-campus applicants who appear more qualified?

And where exactly do you reside, Mr. Barnes? Are you even a Kootenai County resident anymore?

Ah, there’s so much more the public wants to know — and more importantly, has every right to know. But the people in charge have chosen the course of being unaccountable. Barnes has not returned any of the many simple Press requests for him to put to rest concerns that he no longer lives in the county he pledged to serve.

As time goes on, we’re smelling the rot of civic silence from a number of candidates who were supported by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, including two newcomers to the Community Library Network’s Board of Trustees.

What all of these public “servants” have in common is pursuing their ideological goals while harboring pure disdain for two-way communication with their constituents. That cold shoulder should be setting off alarms among the conscientious in our community, no matter their political leanings.

We acknowledge the possibility that some of these elected officials refuse to return phone calls or answer email questions from reporters because:

a) They’re afraid, correctly so, that they may say something that will expose the fact that they don't know what they're doing.

b) They know what they're doing but don't want you to know.

c) They think they’re hurting the newspaper by ignoring reporter requests for comment.

That doesn’t hurt the newspaper at all. In the end, it hurts the credibility of the organizations these elected officials are supposed to represent. More to the point, it hurts the people who need that information to make good decisions moving forward.

You've got questions. Demand that your elected officials answer them.