||| FROM MICHAEL JOHNSON |||


To: Mandi
My name is Michael Johnson.  I live on Orcas Island.  I find myself at this time wanting to reach out to you in response to your 6/29 editorial titled “Vacation rentals alone aren’t causing the affordable housing crisis.”

I’m assuming that perhaps you, or one of your associates might read the Orcasonian.  If so, I’m also hoping that you might respond to this.  But, in case you don’t read the Orcasonian I’ll forward a copy of this with the associated link to both the Fri. Har. Journal’s office, as well as to the Islands’ Sounder’s office so as to give you a heads up.  Please don’t take this as an attack on you personally… for it is not. 

Sound Publishing, Inc.’s role in promoting the vacation rental and tourism industry in SJC is well known.  From the editor of the Islands’ Sounder being closely tied to the vacation rental industry herself while at the same time serving as the Pres. of the board of the Orcas Chamber of Commerce, to our local paper’s participation in working with SJC via the Chamber of Commerce and the SJC Visitor’s Bureau to produce and distribute the annual tourist guide, “The Book of the San Juan Islands– Information & Relocation Guide,” to each of our local newspaper’s annual, “It’s time to be nice to the tourists” editorial, (talk about a sign of over-tourism), we have observed our local paper’s adherence to the status quo.  

In your editorial you give the opinion of the paper as your signature in regards to the ongoing debate surrounding the cause and effect of the current lack of affordable housing in SJC.  You do so when stating–

  • “Six months ago when the vacation rental permit moratorium began– We wrote an editorial explaining our stance on the issue.”
  • “We’d like to reiterate our feelings….”
  • “Based on our observations, we aren’t convinced….”
  • “We urge the council to look at other, critical factors.”
  • “We implore the council to find solutions for the root cause of the housing crisis….”

In light of these statements I wanted to ask the following question for clarity–  Who is the “we” that you are referring to in your editorial?  Whose opinion is it exactly that you’re referring to?  Is this your opinion alone, or, is this the opinion of the editors of both the Journal, and/or perhaps also the Sounder?  Or, is this the position of our local newspaper’s staff members?  If so, how many staff members does this position statement represent?  Does it represent the opinion of the entire staff?  

Or, is this perhaps an opinion that was handed down from headquarters– from the Sound Publishing, Inc. office in Bellevue, or, from the Black Press, LTD headquarters in Victoria?  I mean, somebody, somewhere in your chain of command has to approve of the content of the newspaper, right?  So, I ask again, whose opinion is it that is reflected in the 6/30 editorial when you infer that this is the position statement of the paper?

Also, in your editorial you stated the following, “Based on our observations, we aren’t convinced that vacation rentals are causing our affordable housing crisis… we urge the council to look at other, critical factors.”

And also, “There are many reasons for the lack of affordable housing throughout the San Juans today.”

In relation to these statements I couldn’t help but notice that throughout your editorial you only list “low wages,” and “high rents” as being the factors responsible for causing SJC’s affordable housing crisis.  Can you do now what your editorial fails to do, and list some of the “many reasons” that you allude to that you feel are responsible for the lack of affordable housing throughout the San Juans today?  Know that I too, am a believer that we should be looking at “root causes” when attempting to tackle tourism and growth issues, and my guess is that your list is probably one that many of us can agree with.


 

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