EDITORIAL: What we stand for

1. We believe our local governments should be fiscally conservative. While national government issues often get a lot of attention, it is local government that impacts our lives the most. These local governments must be fiscally responsible to local taxpayers and this newspaper is dedicated to holding local officials accountable for how they spend tax dollars.

2. We believe in leadership as a public service, not as a tool for private gain. Government officials who run for office and have conflicts-of-interest between their private businesses and their public duties should step down. We consider making money from inside information while serving as a public official to be unethical. This newspaper is dedicated to putting a spotlight on such situations when they arise.

3. We believe in open, transparent government. Governments that hide behind closed doors become illegitimate and do not have the respect of citizens. The people’s business should be done in the open and this newspaper will vigorously defend the public’s right to know what public agencies are doing.

4. We believe in freedom of speech and of the right of citizens to voice their views on public issues. Multiple views are welcome in this newspaper. We are politically independent and we do not view the world through any one political prism.

We realize that in the past year, the Barrow Journal has stepped on a few political toes and ruffled some feathers. Some local government officials were not used to aggressive reporting and having to answer tough questions.

But the Journal is an independent newspaper, beholding to no one politically or financially. We report the news and don’t try to hide unflattering facts. And in our opinions that appear each week in this space, we call it the way we see it.

We must be doing something right. Our readership has exploded over the past 12 months and most of the feedback we get has been positive. That is largely due to our terrific staff at the Journal which works hard each week to get you the complete story.

In the years to come, we pledge to continue reporting the news of Barrow County fairly, in-depth and without fear or favor.

This is who we are and what we believe.

--Mike & Scott Buffington, co-publishers