Government transparency? Accountability? Insult by Valley politician ‘erodes’ both
Unless you’re on Twitter, you likely missed the latest installment of Valley Public Official Shows Their Disdain Toward the Media.
So allow me to fill you in.
The Bee has a reporter named Yesenia Amaro, someone whom I’d describe as a tenacious chronicler of the truth. When Amaro gets hold of a story — like she did while exposing the shameful mess at Madera County Child Protective Services — she’s not one to simply let go. Regardless of any roadblocks placed in her way.
Amaro’s latest investigation delved into the July shooting death of 32-year-old Calley Jean Garay, a Madera domestic violence victim killed in front of her three kids outside a local health clinic. Amaro’s stories examined claims from Garay’s family that the alleged shooter, Garay’s estranged husband, was inadvertently tipped off about the time of her appointment by a clinic employee.
While Julio Garay awaits trial for his wife’s homicide, the case prompted state Sen. Anna Caballero to introduce a bill that would expand the privacy protections of domestic violence victims.
Amaro’s stories are essential public-service journalism, and part of her reporting entails filing official requests to government agencies for documents through the California Public Records Act.
On Thursday afternoon, at 3:22 p.m., Amaro filed such a request via email to Madera County Administrative Officer Jay Varney and members of the Board of Supervisors.
Nine minutes later, at 3:31 p.m., Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler used his iPhone to type the following response from his official county email address:
“To hell with her, she’s a piss poor reporter and if we do, charge her our regular fees”
Wheeler did not conclude his sentence with a period, as we are taught to do in grammar school. Instead he used two emojis: a smiling face wearing a cowboy hat and a thumb’s up.
Politician’s insult goes public
Rightfully offended by Wheeler’s email, Amaro took a picture of her computer screen and posted it on Twitter. Accompanied by the following tweet:
“A public elected official in @MaderaCounty accidentally responded to my #PRA with an insult, and suggesting that if my PRA is fulfilled, that the county should charge me, even though I’m only seeking one record. (The insults are common, but won’t intimidate me.)”
Wheeler must’ve realized — or had someone alert him — he had hit the dreaded “Reply All” and that his insult reached Amaro’s eyes. Because 22 minutes later, at 3:53 p.m., Wheeler responded with this:
“Sorry I sent this out. It was meant for someone else. Please accept my apology. Tom.”
This time, Wheeler used the hands emoji signifying thanks.
Sorry, Tom. No can do. Not only did Wheeler insult a respected, hard-working colleague — while offering a window into the contempt some elected officials have for journalists and the work we do — he didn’t even apologize for what he wrote. Only for his insult landing in Amaro’s inbox.
Essential journalism on Madera County
I tried reaching Wheeler on Friday via that same official county email address and by calling the phone number listed on his official website. Just to give him a chance to explain himself, or clarify what he meant. It’s how professionals are supposed to treat each other.
Wheeler didn’t feel like talking. But Bobby Macauley, Wheeler’s chief of staff, told me the supervisor was “working on a formal response” that we can expect by Monday.
Funny. Wheeler needed fewer than 10 minutes to lob an insult at a reporter for doing her job, but a “formal response” requires days.
Just wanted to point that out.
The first question I’d pose to Wheeler is what justifies his opinion of Amaro’s journalistic abilities. Because from where I sit, cowboy, they’re pretty darn good.
Without Amaro’s reporting, no one would know about the Madera County CPS employee that buried, neglected and shredded 357 child abuse and neglect reports over a two-month span in the fall of 2019 and the sloppy investigation that followed.
Of course, a politician like Wheeler who has served 14 years on the Board of Supervisors might prefer it that way. Sweep all the county’s dirt under a rug, shut off the lights and draw the blinds to keep the sunshine out.
Transparency? Accountability? In his choice of words and tone, Wheeler made us all too aware how he regards those particular concepts.
Bee reporter won’t stop digging
Amaro’s tweet drew widespread attention and elicited a letter to Wheeler co-authored by the First Amendment Coalition and the Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust calling for the supervisor to issue a public apology. A real one this time.
“Attacks like yours erode not just the trust the public has in its elected leaders but the foundation upon which that trust is built: access to information about the government,” the letter read, in part.
“As an elected leader with many years of service, you have the obligation to affirm the crucial role the press plays in the healthy functioning of our democracy, and the equally important role of transparency in government. We urge you to affirm these values and to set the record straight.”
I can’t speak for Wheeler or his values, but I can tell you something about Bee reporter Yesenia Amaro: She’s not going to stop digging for the truth, regardless of any insult by a county supervisor fully ensconced in the good ol’ boy network of the news desert that is Madera County.
In fact, when an elected official responds in the manner Wheeler did, it only makes a reporter like Amaro redouble her efforts.
Because it means that person probably has something to hide.
Editor’s note: Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler emailed the following response to Bee columnist Marek Warszawski:
Marek, I have been encouraged to provide a formal apology and response to my email that was sent in error to Ms. Yesenia Amaro on January 21, 2021.
The email that she and others mistakenly received was inappropriate, and for that I apologize. I have always supported the open sharing of information with members of the media, and have supported transparent County operations since being elected to the Board in 2007.
The frustration expressed in what I believed to be a private conversation with a County staff member was the result of recent interactions with member(s) of the media who have attempted to elicit information and/or opinion responses from me on confidential matters related to County operations. I am never willing to compromise ongoing confidential business or criminal cases by sharing such information. Unfortunately, this frustration inappropriately spilled over into the email that was sent on January 21st.
I look forward to continue to cooperate with all media on those items outside of the confidential realm.
Thanks,
Tom Wheeler, Madera County Supervisor, District 5
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 7:19 AM.
