Editorial Note: This an op-ed piece by Dwight Esau, Sun City resident and Sun Day reporter, telling residents about recent developments between the paper and the Sun City Community Association. He did not receive compensation for this submission.
The eight-year-old relationship between the Sun Day Newspaper and the Sun City board of directors and management staff continues to be tense, complicated, and upside down.
In October of 2015, the board sent me, Sun Day reporter and Sun City resident, a letter threatening to take legal action against me if I continued to write stories about the Sun City leadership.
The Sun Day continues to write about the Sun City leadership. Some board members cooperate with me by supplying information about Sun City meetings and activities. Some board members have worked with me to develop stories at times. Executive Director Deanna Loughran responds to my requests for information with return emails, and to my questions before and after board meetings. Other staff managers refer Sun Day questions to Deanna, or do not return phone calls.
Executive Director Deanna Loughran wrote a letter saying that it was proper for me, a Sun City resident since 2000, to attend board meetings, take notes, ask questions, just like all residents are permitted to do. But she also wrote that it is not proper for me to write articles and get paid for it by an independent newspaper. The Sun Day is not controlled by the Sun City association, and it writes objectively about SC activities and personalities. It does not write editorialize unless it is done so in opinion pieces, such as this one.
Let’s back up and start at the beginning of this situation. Fast forward to last two months and present time.
The Sun City’s community covenants, conditions, and regulations (CC&Rs) say only owners (residents) are authorized attendees at board of directors meetings. There is no reference to reporters.
Earlier this summer, I contacted my editor, Sun Day Executive Editor Chris LaPelusa, and said I had to adjust my newspaper responsibilities so I could spend more time to take care of my wife, Karen, who is battling several serious health issues. LaPelusa responded by hiring a reporter to work with me to prepare reports and articles on Sun City governmental activities.
Shortly afterward, I told Sun City board president Dennis O’Leary about the Sun Day’s plan. The president said the issue of non-resident reporters had not come before the board before, and he would look into it and get back to me if necessary.
On July 22, two days before the July board meeting, I obtained a copy of the agenda from the Sun City website and saw an item near the end of the meeting, saying, “Reporters (Sun Day) attendance at meetings.” I sat through nearly 3 ½ hours of discussion and decisions on community issues. When the item was introduced, Deanna Loughran started by saying, “Since Dwight has retired…”
I interrupted her to say I had not retired, merely changed some of my job assignments. At 9:25 p.m., O’Leary came to the “reporters” agenda item and asked for discussion. (Since October, 2015, O’Leary has been consistently helpful with information and supportive of Sun Day’s inquiries and projects. He told me on Aug 1 that he brought the item up on the advice of an attorney, whom O’Leary said advised him that a policy of inviting non-resident reporters to board meetings was proper if it was put on a board agenda, discussed, and acted upon).
After a few minutes of discussion, board member George Sebastian said he welcomed any Sun Day reporter at meetings of the board. Members Vito Benigno and Steve Bytnar spoke against it.
During the discussion, I told the board that the Sun Day hired a non-resident reporter to work with me on covering Sun City news. I said this because I believed it was important for everyone to understand why this matter came to the board.
The vote on the question of inviting, or permitting, non-resident reporters to attend board meetings was O‘Leary, Howard, and Sebastian voting “yes,” and Bytnar, Marilynn Berendt, Benigno, and Bob McGouey voting “no.” Motion defeated, 4-3.
Now, a truce of sorts has existed among the Sun City leadership community and the Sun Day. The Sun Day continues to publish reports on board and committee activities, along with feature stories and columns on items of interest to Sun City residents, and items in the wider Huntley community that interest and impact SC residents. A copy of the bi-weekly newspaper is mailed to every Sun City’s more than 5,400 households, free of charge.
The Sun Day acknowledges that the Sun City Community Association publishes a high-quality “Lifestyles” magazine and includes reports on its management activities on its website, and in weekly emails to Sun City residents. The Sun Day views its role as a communications partner with the Association. We thank Dennis O’Leary for his consistent support and cooperation. We also thank Dennis, George Sebastian, and Russ Howard for their supportive, and transparent, votes in support of the “non-resident reporters” motion.
