But right on, Seattle Times! The newspaper is demanding records from a lawsuit filed by Susan Hutchison, a Republican candidate for King County Executive, against her former employer, KIRO television. Hutchison claimed the station discriminated against her in 2003 when it hired a younger anchor and demoted Hutchinson to the afternoon news. Reports Bob Young:

[Hutchison's attorney Jon] Rosen argued that unsealing records from Hutchison's lawsuit could have a chilling effect on others who want to sue their employers. He also said the records paint a one-sided picture. They contain inaccurate allegations about Hutchison, Rosen said, but not her rebuttal because the case was settled before she responded.

Judge Timothy Bradshaw held the hearing at The Times' request to determine if the sealed records should be released.

Hutchison filed a lawsuit in October 2003 against KIRO, claiming unlawful discrimination. Hutchison had been an evening news anchor at KIRO from 1981 until September 2002. Station executives effectively demoted her, hiring a new anchor, Kristy Lee, and assigning Hutchison to anchor the noon news. KIRO said it made the change to increase its ratings. Hutchison said KIRO later reduced her pay by more than 50 percent.

Because Lee was younger, Asian-American, and as Hutchison contended, less experienced, Hutchison claimed she was discriminated against because of her race, age and gender.

It's hard to see how the documents only "paint a one-sided picture" if Hutchison had filed the suit—making her case—in the first place. If Hutchison wants voters to elect her as the next King County Executive, then she ought to be comfortable with revealing her past, even what coworkers may have said about her. Of course, she's repeatedly tried to obfuscate her background as a conservative Republican and dodge campaign events—so attempting to hide her history is par for her course.