Sue Lani Madsen: Doubling down and taking personal responsibility

When Mitchell Pitney decided to re-open his business last summer, it wasn’t political defiance. He is committed to physical fitness and personal responsibility, starting with taking care of his members. “People who have better health have better outcomes,” Pitney said at a recent virtual panel discussion. It’s not a stand that makes him a convenient political poster child for the right or the left.

It was hard decision for his family, especially with a new baby, wondering if he was going to have to go back to roughnecking in the North Dakota oil fields. Instead he reopened Double Down Cross-Fit in Yakima on June 1 in spite of the governor’s “Safe Start” orders to stay closed. He’s been safely operating ever since, and business is good. “My members are my heroes,” said Pitney.

He also received a nearly $10,000 fine from the Department of Labor & Industries on June 24, which he has appealed. Pitney is now facing a deposition this week and what he expects to turn into three years of litigation. He estimates his losses would have been in the $60,000 to $70,000 range if he stayed shut down.

The panel discussion was hosted by the Roanoke Conference, an annual policy gathering of Washington’s Republican thought leaders. It featured Pitney plus a bar owner, a state senator and a county commissioner. Other panelists covered the collateral damage of shutdowns in increasing domestic violence rates, the hardships of essentially re-writing a business model three times as recovery plans changed, and the frustrations over a never-ending emergency controlled by a governor with seemingly unlimited power.

Pitney’s comments instead focused on wellness, and on thoughtfully deciding what was morally and ethically correct at each stage. In our conversation this week, Pitney pointed to the “fumbled opportunity we had to shed light on our health and well-being.” He’d like to see pandemic statistics presented in a way to point out if your body is healthy regardless of age “you are better off in this situation that is COVID-19.” He wants people to move well and stay healthy.

Roanoke created a platform to speak, but he was “not there to perpetuate a stereotype.” He sounded nearly as frustrated with left-leaning journalists who called him after the L&I fine, looking for a way to stick him in a box labeled “right-wing maniac chooses capitalism over people’s lives.” He remains focused on changing the broader culture of health, well-being and personal responsibility, starting with his own life and his business.

Ultimately he believes he’s going to win on the L&I fine. He’s paying for the lawyers himself. Pitney said his members wanted to pitch in but he told them they are supporting him by paying for their memberships, by showing up every day, and by bringing their attitudes to be their best. “It was my decision to re-open, and I take the responsibility.”

The Roanoke panelists were asked what they’d tell Gov. Inslee if they had one minute of his attention.

Scott Sargeant, owner of the 19th Hole Bar and Grill in Bremerton, would ask when does the solution become worse than the problem. He also would point out the service industry can’t be replaced overnight. “Where is all this money going to come in without the industry that you’ve shut down?”

State Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, responded “after ten months of having my voice squashed I would ask him to take the blinders off and look at the collateral damage.” She made a plea for trusting residents to do the right thing, saying everyone wants to stay healthy but there is no place with zero risk.

Mason County Commissioner Sharon Trask would invite the governor to spend a day in her county. “Our businesses have done over and above what’s been required of them.” Financial relief is great but let us take personal responsibility, “let us work, let our kids go back to school.”

Pitney said he would lead with empathy and listen. He assumes Inslee meant well, but “help me understand where you’re coming from and why this was an appropriate response, tell all the businesses and families why.”

“The world needs more empathy, we need to listen more than we speak, and I’ve seen the fruits of that firsthand in the culture in our facility, people from every walk of life and they manage to be in this beautiful dance. I want to leave a legacy of listening first.”

It would be great if Pitney’s emphasis on a lifestyle of listening, getting outside, moving well and moving often were as contagious as COVID. I think I’ll go take a walk.

Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com.