Bloglander

Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea must be feeling pretty low about "the media."

Shea -- the same guy who pulled a gun on another driver in an apparent road rage incident and took photos of himself standing in his opponent's driveway -- has blocked multiple reporters from following his Twitter account. Arts Editor Mike Bookey and reporters Daniel Walters, Chris Stein and myself have all been shunned from following or communicating with Shea on Twitter. Seriously, what did @Bookeyblender ever do to Shea?

But it's not just us. Spokesman-Review columnist Shawn Vestal also says he's been blocked -- and that Shea posted correspondence with Vestal to the legislator's blog.

The Twitter blocking is only the latest talk-to-the-hand by the conservative legislator. He hasn't responded to a request for comment by The Inlander on any story we've called him for in 2012. (Daniel Walters did, however, speak to him in person during a February Ron Paul event).

Perhaps Shea is tweaked that The Inlander ran a June 2011 story based on a survey of 900 lobbyists that ranked him one of the worst lawmakers in the region. Walters says Shea was unhappy about a story regarding the lawmaker and his wife, but to our knowledge we didn't write that one. It may have been a piece by The Stranger that mentioned his divorce and restraining order filed on Shea by his ex-wife. 

In private correspondence, a legislative aide for Shea told Chris Stein that Shea doesn't feel like he's been treated "fairly or respectfully" by us. 

Nonetheless, a whole host of other politicians have been willing to talk to The Inlander, even when we've ruffled their feathers. 

So if you're out there, Rep. Matt Shea, we'd love to sit down and start over. Come and we'll have a chat and you can vent. In fact, we'll post your responses -- completely unedited, if you want -- on our blog.