Anniversary and election

It occurred to me a few days ago that it’s been one year since I took over as CN&R editor. And exhale. It’s been one heckuva ride thus far. I’ve learned many things over the past 12 months, including the fact that I’ve become somewhat of a public figure, and thus a target of a lot of criticism. I knew that came with the job, but people have gone overboard in a few instances.

The highlights include an overtly misogynistic death threat in response to an editorial asking for further scrutiny into the shooting death of a teenager, 19-year-old Breanne Sharpe, by Chico police officers. Then there was a veiled death threat over a story in which I watched and described a sheep getting slaughtered and eviscerated.

I’ve written about many controversial topics over the past dozen years and never received such vitriolic reactions. Neither had my predecessor during his 30-plus years in journalism. So, what gives? Is it because I’m now editor? Is it because I don’t pull punches? Is it because I’m a woman? Probably. How disappointing.

Then again, for every woman-hating, condescending comment sent to my email inbox or voicemail, I’ve heard from many more supportive readers. I’m extremely appreciative of them. And I’m thankful for the readers who respectfully disagree with this newspaper and other readers. Our letters section continues to be a space for vigorous debate, with occasional acerbic comments.

I’m also thankful that I’m surrounded by an amazing staff. We all work hard to meet the mission of this newspaper—to inform our community and make it a better place to live.

Another thing I’ve learned is that people have a hard time adjusting to change. I get that. Some pages of the CN&R look a little different than they did a year ago. The same is true of the prior year and the year before that, and so on and so forth. Time will tell whether those changes are good or bad. There are more changes to come. I’m certain readers will let us know what they think about them, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

But enough about me. The June primary is quickly approaching. If you haven’t been following the races, you ought to do a couple of things. First, head to our online archives and read about some of the more interesting contests. Second, look over our endorsements, which we’ve reprinted this week (page 4). And third, do some independent research about the candidates by mining the website of the League of Women Voters, smartvoter.org. There, you’ll find each candidate’s official ballot statement, along with other helpful info.

In 2010, primary turnout hit an all-time low with just a third of California voters showing up at the polls. Predictions for participation in this year’s election are looking pretty poor, too. Gov. Jerry Brown has no serious challengers, so it’s been hard for some folks to get excited. I’m hoping Butte County bucks the trend. After all, there are some important local positions on the line.