Constituent access compromised

by Matt Paulson
Editor in Chief

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's transition team.

The story, compared to what it could have been, was mediocre at best. It was lacking something substantial: an interview with the transition team's head.

The goal of any major media source is to provide stories that mean something to the general population. We see high profile stories every night in the news and we read about them every morning in the Los Angeles Times.

The goal of the Campus Times is the same. We strive to provide the most prominent stories we can. We, however, face a challenge different from most big newspapers and media sources.

Unlike the Los Angeles Times, which simply reports the news as it happens, the Campus Times, as a relatively small publication, must find a local angle. People do not come to us for the news, not only because we're a University publication, but we're also a weekly, which means it is often hard to have the latest breaking news. Our stories must be prominent specifically to the La Verne community.

Well, with the announcement of the transition team, the perfect marriage of local and high profile presented itself.

David Dreier, our own local congressman, is to lead Schwarzenegger's transition into office. Not only is this story important to the state of California, its main source was elected to serve our very own community.

So we picked up the story. We were anxious to tell the community what our own congressman was going to do as the leader of one of the most historic transitions in political history. What does this mean for California? What does this mean for us ­ his constituents?

After repeated calls to Dreier's local office, his Sacramento office and his Washington, D.C., office, I had no luck getting to talk to the Republican from San Dimas.

I left countless messages and never received any calls. I talked to more press secretaries and assistants than I care to tally. No luck.

Eventually, deadline came, and I had absolutely no success contacting Dreier, so I wrote the compromised article without him, neglecting an essential part of the story.

I know Dreier is busy, probably moreso than he ever has been. Leading a non-career politician into office must be one of the most time and energy-consuming activities in which a person can partake.

But I, as a local resident, am disconcerted with Dreier's lack of response. And I am not simply complaining on a personal level for being stiffed.

I am talking about our 2,000-person readership within Dreier's constituency. The whole idea of a congressman is to be in touch with his constituents ­ to listen to and voice their opinions. These people have voted for Dreier and kept him in office, trusting that he will respect their best interests. But, now, where is he?

Because he now sits at Arnold's right hand, does that mean his local interests sit back in waiting, anxiously jittering for a few seconds of his time?

It just doesn't sit right. Dreier denied me access, which is trivial compared to the other parts of our community that were denied. He denied our school ­ a university that serves his community. And he denied the community as a whole, which is made up of his constituents, the people responsible for his success.

His appointment as the head of Arnold's transition team is extremely commendable. I am excited that a local boy would see such high profile success. But I do not believe that the local community should be sacrificed in the process.

Matt Paulson, a junior journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at phil6483@comcast.net.