Health board acted courageously

I urge the Spokane Regional Health District Board to resist an effort to change the composition of regional health boards. The board must remain overwhelmingly composed of elected officials. Infusing the board with more appointed members erodes accountability to the public. The allure of more medical experts on the board sounds attractive on the surface, but it ignores the fact that the Health District itself is full of experts. The SRHD organization provides us with the professional medical advice we need.

The board’s governance and decision-making gives perspective to the expert advice from within the organization. The board’s decisions are a result of a holistic view which weighs medical advice in context of other community challenges. It is a tough job.

The board’s decisions must stand up to scrutiny. If the public does not believe the board’s decisions are sound; citizens, through our vote, then elect new representatives to the board. This exemplifies the noble connotation of politics as it exists in our representative form of government.

I applaud the current board for acting on Dr. Lutz’s performance prior to an election. It was a difficult decision which was bound to incite strong opinions. They had the courage to vote their conscience on this issue exactly when we had the opportunity to vote our response to their stewardship of our regional response to a pandemic.

The current effort by others to circumvent that democratic process by reinventing the way health districts are governed represents the ignoble connotation of politics.

Steve Blaska

Spokane