Now that our five-member Clark County council is eliminating much of the “stupid stuff” that has been going on over the past two years, it’s time to look at the county’s newspaper of record. The Columbian served that function for decades until Clark County commissioners voted to switch that honor to The Reflector in Battle Ground. It didn’t seem to matter to the commissioners that The Reflector is a weekly rather than a daily paper like The Columbian.
At the time, there was speculation that the move was in retaliation to derogatory stories printed by The Columbian. I am not a lawyer, but it seems such an action goes against the First Amendment section 1983, which prohibits governmental organizations from retaliation to individuals or companies for exercising their First Amendment rights.