A political dust storm blew through Maple Valley during the past couple of weeks.

Political twisters are entertaining to watch at times and can make for good copy for news writers.

They can also display the inside game, if you know what to look for, and that can be a very deceiving side of the road to walk.

The hot talk centered on a letter to the editor signed by Mayor Noel Gerken concerning the Donut Hole and his preference for the group led by the Bellevue-firm Powell Development to win the development contract for the site.

King County and the city got into a family fight over the letter, and you can read a very balanced and well written article about the subject by Kris Hill published in the Aug. 19 edition and posted to the web.

I am not interested in jumping into the ongoing angst over the Donut Hole, which was going on before I came to The Reporter and I am sure it will pop up on the City Council agenda a couple of days past Armageddon.

What I will address in authorship of letters.

The mayor’s letter was presented to this publication as being authored by Gerken.

In fact, it was written by City Manager David Johnston with assistance from Gerken.

The letter should have been signed by both.

This is not a case of deception that will suddenly stop the world from spinning. It is simply a case where everyone needs to understand this publication’s requirements for publishing letters.

We always call and ask the person who sends the letter to confirm authorship and give the OK for publication.

Over the years I have had some very interesting attempts and unfortunately a few successes of someone getting a letter published under false pretenses.

The readers need to be able to trust this publication’s attempt to find out who wrote the letter. Our requirement is anyone who is writing a letter must sign it and multiple authors are fine. We just need to be clear and disclose who is writing.

If there is an error, as in this case, we will run a correction or clarification.

What we are all looking for is clear disclosure.

Opinions are important and letters are a vital part of the paper, but we must know who is writing. Despite many who believe only their side deserves to be heard, no one has the franchise on right.

Truth always rests quietly between the hot-talk quotes and the waving arms

The more we know and the more we think and learn, the better we do at governing.