The troubling part of this story is not Mr. Stepankowsky’s error (if it even was one), it’s that our Mayor is embroiled in an extremely exacting personal turmoil. The public absolutely has a right to know he stands accused of engaging in domestic violence, and even if he alleges his wife is the aggressor, "the truth likely lies in the middle".
So, let’s have a little perspective here about this feigned outrage over the Mayor’s children being named, even if it is probably appropriate Mr. Stepankowsky redacted them.
First, the Mayor has been ~very~ public at council meetings and on “social media” about his children. He has shared multiple photos of his family (his current FB page profile photo is literally of him holding his son in the Mayor’s office) and he has gone out of his way to share detailed information about both of his kids, including their respective serious medical diagnoses. The point being, the Mayor has a well established practice of ~not~ keeping his family private.
Second, it’s rich as heck for Councilmember Halvorson to weigh in on these comments, when he himself ~deliberately~ distributed to a political associate an unredacted Excel spreadsheet from the city that contained privileged and confidential police records which included identifiable minor crime victims.
Don’t believe me? Enter a PRR to the Clerk’s office for Mr. Halvorson’s February 16, 2024 email to Rayleen Aguirre. It will now include a redacted copy of the spreadsheet, except that it ~wasn’t~ redacted when he disseminated it to her.
There’s a PRR for another incident in which Mr. Halvorson, in Feb 2024, requested the data on all Public Record Requests made so far that year. He then sent the unredacted version to Rayleen Aguirre.
It’s time for Boudreau to resign and get his personal affairs in order. Once he’s got that sorted out and has grown up a little bit, maybe he can think about public service again.
Tragic. Sad. Karma? Far too often repeated story each of us can probably relate to in our own lives or certainly having seen similar in our families and friends.
I don't think this piece was done with glee---my read is it was written with concern, perhaps even more compassion than others might have included.
There are many inaccuracies in this blog. What the court said was Spencer has custody with Lauren having supervised visits by a business recommended by the courts.
Maybe get all the facts cleared up; Spencer Boudreau did not file for divorce. Lauren filed for the divorce and has an attorney. As stated in court, manipulation and control coming from Spencer is flooding this whole situation and causing undue pain and harm for those children and both families. Actual truth and facts needs to be heard, not just hear say especially when speaking about a family that is being broken up by disfunction.
Thanks for pointing out the error. I thought Spencer said it court that he had filed. I was just able to get Lauren's court filing. I have corrected the mistake.
While I don't agree with Mayor Boudreau's politics, I found your story about his divorce and child custody issues very disappointing. You should know that divorce is very painful and stressful for any family, especially those with young children. There is NO public interest in this story other than gawking over salacious details that should remain private. This "story" shows that the Boudreau's are human and face the same struggles as the rest of us.
At least you had the good sense to remove the children's names which you should have never published. I generally am informed about local issues by your writing , but this missed the mark and seems to have been driven by personal animosities. Very disappointing
Mr. Grubbs, I beg to differ. Mr. Stepankowsky is right to inform us about how well Mayor Boudreau performs his official duties while trying to deal with his personal problems. The mayor has been absent in recent weeks from the fluoride workshop and a homelessness forum which he was hosting. He cancelled just minutes before it was to start and left people standing in the meeting hall wondering what was going on. He has brought his children to city functions or has left early and maybe we can guess why now. And who knows what else he’s missed or made excuses for because of his family life.
Michael, the truth will prevail. There were reasons for his absences. Despite your feelings towards him and others on the council, it is completely unnecessary to discuss the personal lives of parents with two small children. The accusations were unfounded and the CPS case was closed against Spencer.
Normally, Andre obtains all of the facts and supplemental proof before he writes about something. Homework was not done in this case. Very sad.
I apologize, Andre. The story is in TDN. Today. It is apparently newsworthy. And you are obviously the better arbiter of that. It still seems too personal to be reported. But that’s the standard.
I don’t usually agree with your politics. But I DO appreciate hearing your opinion. And appreciate that you do this out of a sense of service to the community.
Big Al, no need to apologize. I struggled with the story too. I could have reported far more and I ended up reporting far less than TDN reported this morning because I didn’t think going beyond what I said was appropriate. This is a news story for three reasons: 1). the mayor was accused but exonerated of criminal wrongdoing. 2). Word about this was getting around town and putting out the facts helps control rumors. 3. It might affect how Spencer is able to do his job as mayor. Drawing the line between legitimate public interest and private affairs in a case like this is a tough task. I hope that I didn’t cross the boundary.
I have taken the children’s names out of the story. But readers must go to Lower Columbia currents site to see the updated version.
Thank you, Andre.
The troubling part of this story is not Mr. Stepankowsky’s error (if it even was one), it’s that our Mayor is embroiled in an extremely exacting personal turmoil. The public absolutely has a right to know he stands accused of engaging in domestic violence, and even if he alleges his wife is the aggressor, "the truth likely lies in the middle".
So, let’s have a little perspective here about this feigned outrage over the Mayor’s children being named, even if it is probably appropriate Mr. Stepankowsky redacted them.
First, the Mayor has been ~very~ public at council meetings and on “social media” about his children. He has shared multiple photos of his family (his current FB page profile photo is literally of him holding his son in the Mayor’s office) and he has gone out of his way to share detailed information about both of his kids, including their respective serious medical diagnoses. The point being, the Mayor has a well established practice of ~not~ keeping his family private.
Second, it’s rich as heck for Councilmember Halvorson to weigh in on these comments, when he himself ~deliberately~ distributed to a political associate an unredacted Excel spreadsheet from the city that contained privileged and confidential police records which included identifiable minor crime victims.
Don’t believe me? Enter a PRR to the Clerk’s office for Mr. Halvorson’s February 16, 2024 email to Rayleen Aguirre. It will now include a redacted copy of the spreadsheet, except that it ~wasn’t~ redacted when he disseminated it to her.
There’s a PRR for another incident in which Mr. Halvorson, in Feb 2024, requested the data on all Public Record Requests made so far that year. He then sent the unredacted version to Rayleen Aguirre.
It’s time for Boudreau to resign and get his personal affairs in order. Once he’s got that sorted out and has grown up a little bit, maybe he can think about public service again.
Tragic. Sad. Karma? Far too often repeated story each of us can probably relate to in our own lives or certainly having seen similar in our families and friends.
I don't think this piece was done with glee---my read is it was written with concern, perhaps even more compassion than others might have included.
"Lauren Boudreau said she grew up in an abusive home with frequent corporal punishment. “My childhood was traumatic. "
And now the kids are with Laurens mom????
I’m not sure where they are right now. She did not blame her mom for her troubles.
There are many inaccuracies in this blog. What the court said was Spencer has custody with Lauren having supervised visits by a business recommended by the courts.
@andre You should take the kids names down.
Andre, thank you for modifying the story!
Maybe get all the facts cleared up; Spencer Boudreau did not file for divorce. Lauren filed for the divorce and has an attorney. As stated in court, manipulation and control coming from Spencer is flooding this whole situation and causing undue pain and harm for those children and both families. Actual truth and facts needs to be heard, not just hear say especially when speaking about a family that is being broken up by disfunction.
Thanks for pointing out the error. I thought Spencer said it court that he had filed. I was just able to get Lauren's court filing. I have corrected the mistake.
While I don't agree with Mayor Boudreau's politics, I found your story about his divorce and child custody issues very disappointing. You should know that divorce is very painful and stressful for any family, especially those with young children. There is NO public interest in this story other than gawking over salacious details that should remain private. This "story" shows that the Boudreau's are human and face the same struggles as the rest of us.
At least you had the good sense to remove the children's names which you should have never published. I generally am informed about local issues by your writing , but this missed the mark and seems to have been driven by personal animosities. Very disappointing
Mr. Grubbs, I beg to differ. Mr. Stepankowsky is right to inform us about how well Mayor Boudreau performs his official duties while trying to deal with his personal problems. The mayor has been absent in recent weeks from the fluoride workshop and a homelessness forum which he was hosting. He cancelled just minutes before it was to start and left people standing in the meeting hall wondering what was going on. He has brought his children to city functions or has left early and maybe we can guess why now. And who knows what else he’s missed or made excuses for because of his family life.
Michael, the truth will prevail. There were reasons for his absences. Despite your feelings towards him and others on the council, it is completely unnecessary to discuss the personal lives of parents with two small children. The accusations were unfounded and the CPS case was closed against Spencer.
Normally, Andre obtains all of the facts and supplemental proof before he writes about something. Homework was not done in this case. Very sad.
Thank you for your detailed report.
Over the line to discuss this. Elected official or not.
I apologize, Andre. The story is in TDN. Today. It is apparently newsworthy. And you are obviously the better arbiter of that. It still seems too personal to be reported. But that’s the standard.
I don’t usually agree with your politics. But I DO appreciate hearing your opinion. And appreciate that you do this out of a sense of service to the community.
Big Al, no need to apologize. I struggled with the story too. I could have reported far more and I ended up reporting far less than TDN reported this morning because I didn’t think going beyond what I said was appropriate. This is a news story for three reasons: 1). the mayor was accused but exonerated of criminal wrongdoing. 2). Word about this was getting around town and putting out the facts helps control rumors. 3. It might affect how Spencer is able to do his job as mayor. Drawing the line between legitimate public interest and private affairs in a case like this is a tough task. I hope that I didn’t cross the boundary.
Andre - please take the children’s names out of your blog. It is not appropriate to expose them.
Is it appropriate to use the children’s names? I thought you were a professional. I guess this is just trash blog.
The true losers are those babies. My heart breaks for them.
The babies will be fine