And thus the transition from public hospital to private hospital (which still gets lots of public funds) is complete. It began long ago when the district split the hospital into a separate entity, continued when they bought a hospital outside the district, continued a few years ago when the district board expanded the hospital board to include 4 additional members and is now complete with the addition of even more members so that our 5 elected officials can't control the hospital even if they are unanimous. Of course they can theoretically kick out people that they disagree with but will they really do that except in egregious cases?

If they need expert help why don't they do what everyone else does and hire expert advisors either as employees or contractors? Does the City Council decide to expand its ranks with unelected experts in law enforcement, public works, parks and urban planning? Do our school boards distinguish between the school district and the schools themselves and cede control over the latter to education experts? No. They all hire the experts and then make their own decisions in the interest of the residents/taxpayers/voters. Why should the hospital district be different?

Voters might want to pay attention to the election of the hospital district's public board members. If only incumbents run, though, voters will have no choice. The Voice should run an article about positions on public bodies up for election - including the Superior Court - with the filing deadlines. The article should PRECEDE filing deadlines.