As a small-business owner in the Eugene-Springfield communities, I’m more than busy running my company. But lately, I’ve had to stop and shake my head at how local media have treated one of our elected Lane County Commissioners — David Loveall.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield continues to publish stories built on misinformation, and it’s past time to set the record straight. The most recent example is Elon Glucklich’s opinion piece, which claims that commissioner Loveall’s behavior led the county to pay a $250,000 settlement to former Lane County Counsel Erin Pettigrew. That claim is not only inaccurate — it distorts the truth entirely. It frames the settlement as being solely the result of Loveall’s actions with no mention of commissioner Pat Farr, whose name also comes up in the tort claim records outlining the lawyer’s allegations.
The information needed in the investigation is protected under Oregon Public Meetings Law, so unless Lookout is going to fight to make that entire settlement public — not just the selective details included in Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky’s public email – the public is never going to hear the whole story. Why isn’t he being asked for evidence for his claims?…