(If you’re wondering, The Donald also has this option.)
And please don’t confuse “off the rails” with “off the hook.”
When you’re off the hook, you’re doing something new and fresh in a positive, way-cool way:
“Wearing those Christmas socks in July is off the hook, dog!”
When you’re off the rails, you’ve simply lost track of reality:
“Those Vancouver port commissioners approving that oil terminal are off the rails, dog!”
• • •
A little history, if I might.
When Madore was nothing more than a rich, political gadfly, he was a bit of a wackadoodle, always showing up at Vancouver City Council meetings, complaining about light rail, tolls and the “X-Files” being canceled in 2002.
(Oh wait, that was me complaining about the “X-Files.”)
But then he bought himself a seat on the county council, and although he continued to do stupid stuff, he was in the majority. So he became polite and measured as he instituted his stupid stuff.
As you might imagine, voters eventually grew tired of his act, and now Madore finds himself in the minority of the county council. And the way Madore sees it, that has opened the floodgates to (dramatic pause required here) more wackadoodle behavior!
Gone is his polite approach. Now he couples his stupid stuff with outbursts.
• He loves to call The Columbian a cancer on our community.
• He laid out a road map on how to read The Columbian without paying us.
• He has taken to calling his fellow conservative Republicans who disagree with him “liberals” because, well you know, that’s even worse than being a wackadoodle.
• He now embraces inappropriate hard right-wing bloggers who support him. When a person asked Madore to do something about a demeaning comment from a blogger on his Facebook page, his response was, “I embrace his political incorrectness.”
• • •
And now this.
Madore is trying to hide behind the First Amendment so he doesn’t have to abide by public records laws.
Look, there are a few simple truths when you become an elected official. You do the people’s work, you get your clothes dry cleaned so you smell good when you’re doing the people’s work, and you have to keep track of what you do.
Got that, councilor?
Today, the landscape keeps shifting on how to keep track of what elected officials do, mainly because of social media. And Madore (sorry, Howard Stern) is the king of local social media.
In part because Madore doesn’t speak to The Columbian, he does his public business through his Facebook page. And that’s where he is standing on increasingly thin ice.
Madore argues that his Facebook page is nothing more than his views on public life and should not be subject to public records requests.
The county attorney isn’t buying it and has suggested to Madore that his page be administered by the county, so when a public records request comes in, the county could adhere to the law.
But Madore (wackadoodle alert coming) has twisted the county attorney’s advice into trying to control his free speech.
“Yesterday revealed more of our county government’s continuing transformation to the dark side by the new liberal majority on the Clark County Council.”
Madore continued.
(The county) “pushed for additional measures to silence the voice of the conservative minority remaining on the Clark County Council.”
Hey, I’m not making this stuff up. That’s what Madore said!
The county has gone to the dark side? Jedi Master Yoda would be impressed. But no one else is.
I suspect this ranting is playing well to his small band of followers. But the overall community is simply cringing.
Why? Because his claims of being silenced are simply a lie.
Look, there is no bigger supporter of the First Amendment than me. If someone were truly trying to silence Madore, I’d have his back big time. Heck, even if the First Amendment didn’t exist, I’d have his back on his free speech rights. This guy is like Christmas every day to a journalist. No way should we silence his stupid stuff.
But the county isn’t talking about silencing Madore. They’re — again — trying to make sure that what is said on his Facebook page is captured and preserved, because it’s public record.
I know my way around the First Amendment. But I’m always willing to hear others on this. So I went to Eric Stahl, an attorney who works for Seattle’s Davis Wright Tremaine. Stahl primarily works with media companies, and he represents The Columbian.
“Public officials are entitled to say whatever they want on Facebook, and social media can be a great tool for government to engage the public. But it has to be done in a way that complies with public records laws. When elected officials or public employees post something in the scope of their government position, relating to the conduct of government business, it triggers obligations to preserve the records and to produce them on request.
“The county, and its taxpayers, are right to be concerned about this. The penalties for getting it wrong can be pretty steep.”
Look, I get that Madore is trying to paint himself as the warrior of the people. Still, he should be careful. Why?
He’s exposing taxpayers to a real risk. If the county were to get sued over a public records request and it was unable to respond because Madore has deleted stuff, taxpayers could be liable for the other side’s attorneys’ fees. And, of course, a potentially large statutory penalty.
Not only that, if Madore is found to have destroyed public records, there could be criminal penalties. It’s a felony charge. Now, the state has never enforced that law, but it’s there. Waiting.
I’m honestly not certain if Madore can get back on the rails. He is one strange cookie. But here’s one guy who is hoping he can.
He’s just too much fun to cover. I don’t want to lose him.
