Dear editor,
Talk about being politically tone deaf. Throw in myopia and willful bias and that's the Press Gazette.
In case you haven't noticed, over the past two years Mayor Wesley Meiss and the voters of Milton have been slowly disassembling the old Guy Thompson-controlled city council of dupes and sycophants and replacing them with young free-thinkers who want Milton to once again move toward its potential.
In fact, the Press Gazette probably has not noticed. During those two years, the paper has either ignored or distorted Mayor Meiss' visionary leadership in the face of abuse and truculence by the old guard Thompson holdovers and surrogates.
Two years ago, when Meiss defeated the 20-year Mayor Thompson in a 20-point landslide the PG didn't see fit to even put the story on the front page. That bias rages today as indicated by last Saturday's dripping editorial.
At the Dec. 13 council swearing-in meeting, Meiss was hit with an unexpected and unprecedented situation. Histrionics ensued. He probably could have handled the situation more adroitly. However, in the midst of the turmoil, he was able to steer the meeting toward an, albeit, messy vote and resolution.
True to their bias, the PG totally ignored the elephant in the room: Does Councilwoman Johnson live in the ward she was elected to serve as required by law? No evidence was presented to dispute the complaint. Politically suspect testimony–by the city attorney and Johnson herself — but no refuting evidence.
The true failure here is not Mayor Meiss but this newspaper's slack, slanted coverage.
Meanwhile, the will of the electorate moves on. I have complete confidence that in two years the voters of Milton will complete the City Hall cleaning Mayor Meiss began two years ago.
ROB JOHNSTONE
Milton
Editor’s note: The Press Gazette cannot speak to past editors’ decisions, although if the mayoral election occurred three days before the print publication, moving its coverage to an inside page is not a biased decision. It was part of a forward-looking effort to deliver only “news” on the front page (that which is truly new). Current management agrees with the decision to deliver print readers only the freshest content, if available, on A1.
The Press Gazette’s job is not to promote city officials’ achievements; campaign managers can do that. The paper looks out for the public’s best interests. Still, the paper has published a number of stories that positively portray Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss; one example is a story on Meiss’ efforts to promote businesses through social media.
Finally: The Press Gazette’s editorial published in the Dec. 17 edition did not ignore the question of whether Councilwoman Mary Ellen Johnson lives in her ward. We stated that investigating that claim, however, reasonably could have been handled after the swearing-in ceremony.
We maintain that there is a larger concern than Johnson’s residence if, in fact, she lives outside Ward II. That larger concern is the candidate qualification process, as election officials verified her residence just as they had for all other candidates.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Press Gazette ignored Meiss' visionary leadership