Unabridged letter printed:
This letter to the editor was written by the Rosemere Neighborhood Association’s attorney, Richard Smith. The letter was published in the Columbian on Sunday, December 19, 2004′ however, it was edited by the Columbian staff and pertinent commentary was removed. The letter is included here in its entirety as it was originally penned.
Dear Editor:
Scott Hewitt’s December 9, 2004 Reporter’s Notebook about the Rosemere neighborhood warrants a response. It is too bad that the Columbian chooses to slander the Rosemere Neighborhood Association, which is a group of well-intentioned people pointing out the naked-emperorness of city government for the common good. Also, how is it responsible journalism to repeat unsupported (and easily debunked) defamatory remarks in the context of an obvious neighborhood feud?
For the past several months, I have worked closely with the RNA as one of its attorneys, spending numerous hours with several of its leaders. I was shocked to see repeated in your newspaper the assertion that the Rosemere Neighborhood Association is a “cult” that “has done nothing for the neighborhood.” The activists of the RNA are among the most dedicated, determined, and persevering that I have encountered in a dozen years of representing organizations of this kind. They care very deeply about their neighborhood and the people of Vancouver, making enormous efforts to confront a hostile city government over serious pollution problems.
A diverse group of reasonable, community-minded people reclaim their neighborhood association from religious bigots and focus it on real problems, including the sewage that seeps from a multitude of failing septic systems into yards, streets, and the city creek. This group dares challenge city government’s neglect of the environment and human health. City government retaliates. The religious bigots spew venom. What a shame that the local newspaper joins this assault.
Richard A. Smith, Seattle
Smith & Lowney, PLLC
