Jeff Hurd: “our colleague Doug LaMalfa passed away on Monday, and I want to take just a minute--he would have liked that--to honor…”

“our colleague Doug LaMalfa passed away on Monday, and I want to take just a minute--he would have liked that--to honor him the best way that I know how: plainly. Doug believed that we should speak clearly, not in jargon. He had a whiteboard in his office labeled unacceptable words, and he meant it. The words ``stakeholders,'' ``empower,'' and ``equity'' were banned. He thought government should sound more like the people it serves. He hated what I called LaMalfa-isms, overcomplicated government explanations for simple things, like saying that the transportation infrastructure is undergoing a temporary operational suspension pending structural optimization instead of just saying that the bridge is closed for repairs. Doug loved this institution. He loved the West. He loved 1-minute speeches. I will miss his humor, his directness, and the clarity he brought to a town that too often hides behind big words. May he rest in peace.”