Sonda Martin: Conduct of commissioners ‘dismissive and patronizing’

##Sonda Martin

About the writer: Sonda Martin, now retired, is a former registered nurse making her home in Newberg.

I gave public comment at the Sept. 25 meeting of the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. I was prompted by the outright dismissive bullying and condescension that I witnessed from Commissioners Mary Starrett and Kit Johnston toward Commissioner Bubba King, both after Marvin Bernards’ public comment and on multiple occasions prior.

Though my comment was impromptu, and thus perhaps not as organized as it could have been, it provoked responses from both Starrett and Johnston. And those responses were both illustrative of the kind of behavior that prompted my comment in the first place.

If one had witnessed Commissioner Johnston repeatedly demonstrate how he is willing to talk down to and belittle his male colleague in a public forum, it wouldn’t be hard to wonder if he would talk that way to women, especially those he disagrees with.

Sadly, I didn’t have to wait long to find the answer. Commissioner Johnston’s response to my comment was openly dismissive and patronizing. One could almost call it mansplaining, to use the common colloquialism.

He started off by expressing his disagreement, then went on to suggest I should go back and watch video of the prior week’s meeting, as he had clearly addressed concerns about parks funding then. The implication was that I was woefully uninformed and perhaps incapable of understanding.

As I was personally willing to entertain the idea that I could be mistaken, I went back and re-watched the prior meeting to see if I had indeed missed something. However, the answer was no, I was not mistaken.

Upon re-watching, I noted again dismissive and bullying behavior toward Commissioner King and listened again to Commissioner Johnston repeatedly praise the parks board for its many great ideas. However, he did not mention any specific funding proposals, which seemed to be at the heart of Commissioner King’s concern — unless hinting at “concepts of a plan” is considered adequately addressing the question.

Furthermore, the last statement in his rebuttal to my public comment was, “OK, moving on … ,” which further demonstrated his attitude of condescension and scorn, this time to a female constituent instead of a male colleague.

Commissioner Starrett’s own dismissiveness and disregard came at the end of the meeting when she said facetiously, “At the risk of sounding like a bully … ,” then took another dig at Commissioner King, this time for his support for an issue not to her liking. Obviously, the irony of this kind of response is lost on her.

In my career as a nurse, there was much discussion and education about horizontal or lateral violence, also known as bully, as that is a commonly acknowledged problem in the nursing field. Unlike the stereotype of the schoolyard bully, shoving you into lockers or shaking you down for your lunch money in a back alley, bullying in the adult world — especially in a workplace setting — often takes the form of:

n Talking over or down to colleagues.

n Being openly dismissive.

n Refusing to share information or collaborate.

n Excluding a colleague from power or social interaction.

n Undermining or gossiping about colleagues.

The behavior is meant to isolate, demoralize and disenfranchise the target and demonstrate the perpetrators’ superior position and power.

It would come as no surprise to any rational person that such behavior is actually disruptive in a workplace, as it is on this county board. Instead of collaboration for the good of the county and its residents, we get high school-level bullying and petty power plays.

This country is facing unprecedented challenges to its economy, its health and the very freedoms we have taken for granted.

In order to meet those challenges, and ensure the highest level of resilience, liberty and well-being for county residents, we need a board that works together. We need a board that models mutual respect and collaborative problem-solving.

One last point:

At the meeting, Commissioner Starrett praised local Kirk vigils for sparking “no riots, no looting and no killing of cops.” Given her ideological leanings, the hypocrisy of her observations and praise can’t be ignored.

I’m pretty certain the commissioner did not denounce the 1,600 individuals who caused millions of dollars of damage to our U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — broken windows and doors, destroyed art, feces smeared across floors and walls, fire extinguishers and pepper spray discharged all over, trash strewn everywhere, looting of artworks, laptops and personal items, injury inflicted on dozens of capitol police officers, five of whom ultimately died.

Nor did she openly decry the fact that, despite overwhelming evidence of these crimes, and conviction by a jury of their peers, these rioters and looters and cop-killers were pardoned by the leader of her party of “law and order.”

Apparently, lawful and appropriate behavior is in the eye of the partisan beholder. This does not bode well for Yamhill County residents in the coming year.