Press should not promote discord

I don't have a dog in the fight in the ongoing saga at NIC, specifically related to the NIC Board of Trustees. Two of my sons attended NIC and have long since moved on. I'm disappointed in the obvious bias of the Coeur d’Alene Press coverage, and their decided place in Christie Wood's camp. I would expect the media to dispassionately and independently report the facts, rather than fomenting acrimony. Virtually every article the Press publishes is slanted against Todd Banducci.

I don’t vote for candidates based on endorsements by the Press or by Central Committees. One expects political leanings by Central Committees, but the Press should be above that. Frankly, I don’t know why the newspaper feels the need to endorse candidates or issues. It immediately removes the notion of independence. We get our fill of that in the FOX News vs. CNN rodeo.

I don’t know what Banducci’s agenda is, other than what he is accused of by Wood's camp. He stated in a recent board meeting that he’s conservative. Whether or not one agrees with the termination of Mr. MacLennan, it was done by a 3-2 vote. That’s the way business is done in public venues. It was legal. It was done by a majority vote.

Banducci’s only public office that I’m aware of is sitting on the NIC Board of Trustees. To be fair, he’s a little brash at times and rough around the edges, but he’s under constant attack as well. Wood, on the other hand, in addition to the Board of Trustees, is on the City Council and is, or was on the Board of the Human Rights Education Institute. If Banducci’s agenda comes into question, then Wood's agenda and ambitions should also be open to scrutiny. She is trying to influence public policy on multiple levels.

There is an orchestrated effort to discredit and take down Banducci, and the Cd’A Press is complicit in it. Wood's City Council colleague, Councilman Dan Gookin, joined in on the effort recently which the Press exaggerated as if there was a full-blown fist fight between Gookin and Banducci. That backfired completely when the video revealed Gookin embellished the encounter in his vulgar-laced hyperbolic tirade.

In closing, the Press should be encouraging respectful discourse and conflict resolution rather than taking sides and fanning the flames. I’m a subscriber and a fan of the Cd’A Press, but they should be above the fray, not fostering discord.

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Chris Sullivan is a Coeur d’Alene resident.