At the League’s 102nd birthday celebration in Snohomish County, the theme on the slide presentation may have been “Consistent Values, Continued Growth,” but the actual theme appeared to be “Defending democracy with a free local press.” Special guests Dee Anne Finken and Delores Irwin represented the LWVWA team studying the impact of the decline in local and regional news and gave a presentation outlining the sources examined and the interviews conducted so far. 

Presenting the work of that study led right into the Democracy in Action award presented by the Snohomish County League to The Daily Herald newspaper. Jon Bauer, the editor of the Herald’s editorial page and a longtime moderator of the League’s candidate forums, was present to receive the award.  

Jon Bauer, opinion page editor of The Daily Herald, with the Democracy in Action award.  

LWV of Snohomish County Board member Karen Crowley sited the following reasons for awarding The Daily Herald: “So many newsrooms today are shrinking or vanishing completely. In answer to this challenge, The Daily Herald has worked to build local support, requesting and securing donations that have resulted in the hire of a new investigative journalist, an environmental journalist, and a reporter focusing on the working class. We have read fresh stories, heard new perspectives, and quite simply learned more about what is happening in our own backyard. We are fortunate to be served by this innovative and resourceful local news institution. As we know, a healthy democracy requires a healthy press. We need the watchdogs. We need the investigators. For these reasons, I nominate our own Daily Herald for the LWVSC Democracy in Action Award. It is critically important that we recognize and applaud their work.” 

For its part, The Daily Herald demonstrated its appreciation for the award in an editorial that said, in part: “As the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County marks its 102nd birthday, the organization that has been vital to the promotion and preservation of democratic representation for the past century, will honor The Daily Herald with its Democracy in Action award in recognition of The Herald’s ‘defense of democracy through superior journalism.’” 

The Snohomish County League was pleased to give the Democracy In Action award to The Daily Herald, and that the Herald’s staff got a glimpse of the local news study currently underway assures an ongoing partnership between the League and the newspaper. Communities thrive on such partnerships.