Mar 26, 2022 2 min read

It was good that Gary Stout attended a Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting (“Dispatch from a recent commissioners meeting,” March 20). Most people do not; therefore, whatever occurs at these meetings receives little notice.

Mr. Stout makes clear that he supports the commissioners. That is his right. His is an op-ed, with an emphasis on his opinion. He notes that he considered ignoring the public comments, stating,” If few county citizens are paying attention, it may be prudent not to give it further attention.” Rather than ignore, he chose to disparage.

At meetings I have attended, people have exercised their rights by speaking out about election integrity and also county spending decisions. That is their right. Mr. Stout notes that these are not normal times. That is true. Unfortunately, normal for Mr. Stout is for the county officials to conduct business as usual with little public input. I disagree.

I see a true grassroots movement to change from that business as usual approach. That change includes working to keep Washington County citizens informed on commissioner decisions; working to defeat last election’s government study commission vote; working to elect an almost complete change in row officers; attending school board meetings, etc.

Many more citizens are paying attention, stepping up, and fighting this business as usual approach. This is as it should be.

John Gallick

Washington