Introducing our new editorial board

When John Blackwood’s one-year term as a community member of our editorial board ended recently, we noted he was leaving a very tough act to follow.

So how do you replace a person who can’t be replaced? Easy. With three people.

The Enterprise-Record received applications from so many intriguing candidates for this opportunity, we decided to expand the board — not just by one person, but two.

And with that, we’re happy to announce that Jeffrey Lobosky, Christine Boyle and Mike Dunbaugh are joining our editorial board for the next year as community members.

They’ll join Mandy FederSawyer, a longtime journalist who is also a journalism instructor at Chico State, as community members on the board, along with E-R reporter Rick Silva and editor Mike Wolcott.

As far as we can tell, it’s the first time in the 168-year history of our newspaper that we’ve had so many people on our editorial board, and for this go-round, that’s just the way Wolcott likes it.

“We couldn’t really choose between Jeffrey, Christine and Mike for the position, because each brought such a great range of viewpoints and opinions while also having a keen understanding of what we’re hoping to accomplish,” Wolcott said. “So we decided, why not just bring all three aboard and triple our knowledge?”

The positions are non-writing roles. Each will take part in our weekly editorial board discussions and are welcome to ask questions, provide input and interject opinions on any issue. From there, we’ll reach a consensus as we provide the community with the newspaper’s official position on any number of issues throughout the year.

To say each of the three has a unique background would be an understatement.

Lobosky is widely known for his work as a neurosurgeon at Enloe Medical Center. He moved here with his wife in 1984 after completing his neurosurgical residency and has been on the medical staff at Enloe ever since, serving as the Medical Director of the Neurotrauma ICU. He is completing his tenure as a member of the Board of Directors of Enloe and has previously served on the Boards of the Chico Boys and Girls Club and the National Injury Prevention Foundation.

“While transitioning into retirement mode, I still feel an obligation to be an integral part of our Chico community,” Lobosky said.

Dunbaugh has also been an integral part of the Chico community for a good long while. A retired 30-year peace officer, he spent 12 years as a chief of police, including four years in Chico (1992-96) and later a second stint as interim chief. He’s also a retired Butte College Dean responsible for the Career Technical side of the operation and was one of the founders of the Boys & Girls Club of the North Valley. He also served on the board for Chico Country Day School.

Dunbaugh said “politically, I am most comfortable in the middle — probably because I worked with city councils the last half of my career as a peace officer where the ‘middle’ is a wise place to be.” He added “I applaud the Enterprise-Record for involving community members in their editorial efforts and I look forward to contributing in meaningful ways.”

Boyle is no stranger to this kind of role, having previously served on the editorial board of the Paradise Post. She’s currently an appraiser for Butte County, but before the Camp Fire owned a real estate/property management company in Paradise, and has served on a wide range of boards, commissions and committees, including the Housing Authority, Behavioral Health, and League of Women Voters.

Boyle said “from a fiscal sense, I am right leaning and from a social sense, left leaning. Basically, I’m open for discussion.”

And “open for discussion” is what our editorial board is all about.

“I never go into these things asking people if they’re a liberal or conservative,” Wolcott said. “That’ll usually come out in the conversations anyway. What I’m always looking for are people who are willing to engage, look at every side of any issue and are in touch with the community and its needs — and can engage in meaningful conversation with others in helping us shape our editorial positions in the year to come.”

We successfully checked each of those boxes with Blacklock a year ago.

This year? It’s check, check and check. We thank Jeffrey, Mike and Christine for (again) stepping up to serve their community.