Matt Driscoll, my editor, who passed away last month, left us an example of how to navigate these politically toxic times.
His openness to perspectives other than his own rekindled hope in me that this centre might still exist and that those of us in it might still be able to find a common way forward.
Two and a half years ago, Matt called and asked if I would be interested in writing a column for the Tribune about once a month.
He said he wanted a conservative voice on the opinion page of the paper. I giggled and told him that this Republican Party doesn’t consider me a conservative – not that I think Donald Trump is a conservative. I disagreed, reminding Matt that while I’m fiscally conservative, I’m socially liberal and environmentally pro-life, and that if he was looking for someone who had a far-right, crazy, populist view, I would disappoint him.
Matt giggled. He hadn’t expected that.
Over the next few months of working with him, I learned that Matt was a damn good editor. While he could be very specific—as in, “Bill, that’s not really a sentence,” or “I don’t know what that word means,” or “Don’t start your sentence with numbers”—more often he would tell me he liked my draft and that he would like it even better if I cut a few hundred words. Then he would suggest where my argument was “unnecessarily thin,” lost its thread, or beat a horse I’d already killed—metaphorically, not in a Kristi Noem way. My writing seemed stronger on those pages because of Matt’s skill.
Just as impressive as his craft was his ongoing commitment to the community and his deep understanding of the issues facing his neighbors and readers.
Homelessness was an issue that was as important to Tribune readers as it was to both of us, and while we were both passionate about finding solutions to get people off the streets, we didn’t always agree on which solutions to support. But that didn’t stop him from encouraging me to keep writing about the issue. He was the one who nudged me to write about the state stopping camping along highways by dumping boulders on the roadway.
Because camp clearance was an important issue for Matt, he reviewed the draft closely, asked questions, and asked for changes. When I reviewed my notes, I accepted almost all of his revisions, but rejected some. Matt addressed my arguments as forcefully as he addressed his own.
A few days after the column appeared, he wrote: “Great column, you hit the nail on the head.” I remember smiling when I read that, not out of pride, but because our collaboration had produced an article that struck a chord.
I haven’t always written about the topics Matt suggested.
He gave me the freedom to write about issues that were important to me, even if he wasn’t sure what I was writing about was important to the Tribune’s readers.
In this way, my column against the deforestation of the Elwha River was read by thousands of people.
When I asked the column a few days after it appeared how it had been received, he replied: “Your most-read article yet, which isn’t bad for an article on environmental issues – and that can be tough.”
A few weeks later, the state canceled the logging contract. Matt immediately suggested I write another article. I will miss that collaboration.
But when we think of Matt, I will remember – and I hope we all will too – that he was a man whose intellectual curiosity exceeded his certainty, who listened to opposing views and welcomed them into the arena of ideas.
There are many ways to honor Matt. One of them is to reject the toxicity and polarization of today’s politics and instead open ourselves to perspectives other than our own. And we should engage in a give-and-take that is more about creating something good than about winning an argument.
Bill Bryant, a member of the Seattle Port Commission from 2008 to 2016, ran as a Republican candidate against Jay Inslee in the 2016 gubernatorial election in Washington.
