Media Monday – March 16, 2009
March 16, 2009 by Cato
Filed under Media, Salisbury Politics
Comegys and Ireton Answer the Hard Questions?
I wasn’t going to bother with the looong pieces in Sunday’s Daily Times about Salisbury Mayoral candidates Gary Comegys and Jim Ireton. I think the objective reader would have to admit that Comegys came off a bit better than Ireton; while the objective vote would admit that Ireton remains the better candidate. While the two pieces weren’t quite fair, they pass for great journalism at the Daily Times.
Like I said, I wasn’t even going to comment on the pieces until I ran across this little ditty on the unofficial blog of the Barrie Comegys campaign:
Wow Joey all the fun you have had at Gary’s expense the last few years on not paying child support, bankruptcy, sassafrass meadows all shot full of holes by a real journalist.
Let’s forget the poor grammar and total cluelessness when it comes to basics like capitalization. Let’s examine the meat of the statement – “shot full of holes by a REAL JOURNALIST” (my emphasis).
Daily Times reporter Laura D’Alessandro appears to be a nice person. I am sure that she possesses many admirable qualities. However, to argue that she is a “REAL JOURNALIST” only works if your definition of journalist is simply one who is paid by some media outlet. My kids do better research for school essays. I write op-ed and I’m more objective. Yesterday’s front page stories were just more cases of the same old Daily Times approach to reporting, albeit slightly better than recent efforts.
In the past, I’ve admonished my friend Joe Albero over his coverage of Comegys’ child support issues. While I don’t believe that they are irrelevant given that a Mayor Comegys would be responsible for an annual budget of tens of millions of dollars, I do think that bringing Comegys’ ex-wife and child into the mix is wrong. Comegys’ bankruptcy is also a relevant issue. I just don’t enjoy making fun of the financial misfortunes of others.
That said, Sunday’s articles are pretty clear that – AGAIN – no research was done to verify the veracity of any of Comegys’ claims. Basically, D’Alessandro just took dictation from Comegys on these issues. This is particularly relevant to the Sassafras Meadows, Salisbury Mall re-zoning and TIF issues.
On Sassafras Meadows, note that D’Alessandro simply parrots the explanation given by former councilman Mike Dunn as to why he was involved in this land deal. No research was done, no additional questions were raised. Why should they? D’Alessandro has been trained well as the house stenographer for the Barrie Comegys administration.
In all fairness, there is no evidence that Comegys did anything illegal regarding Sassafras Meadows. While innuendo abounds regarding Dunn’s involvement, there is no evidence that he has committed a crime either. The problem with Sassafras Meadows is that it is one more example of Comegys’ gross fiscal incompetence and more proof that he should not be Salisbury’s next mayor. We need to remember that the city entered into a non-binding pre-annexation agreement with the developers based on a promise to build senior housing. Yet, after the developers announced that they were not going to fulfill their promise, Comegys agreed to reimburse the developers for their cost of running water and sewer lines to the new development. Here is Comegys’ explanation per the D’Alessandro stenography service:
“We had a choice to make — whether we would leave it in the county and just let them pay water and sewer or fulfill the annexation agreement, which would also give them police and fire services, but also guarantee us tax revenue,” Comegys said.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? However, if D’Alessandro was a “REAL JOURNALIST” she would have asked why the city BORROWED money to pay developers who reneged on their pledge to build senior housing. As I have noted before in pieces regarding D’Alessandro, Google is a marvelous tool.
A similar problem exists regarding Comegys’ explanation of the old mall re-zoning. Remember back two years when Comegys was attacking council candidate Terry Cohen for suing the city. First, she didn’t sue the city. She was one of the parties who appealed the zoning change. The developers should have footed the legal bill. Unfortunately for the taxpayers of Salisbury, the Barrie Comegys administration forced them to pick up the tab. A judge ruled against the re-zoning and Barrie Comegys had to blame someone. Taking responsibility is only a rhetorical device in the land of Barrie.
Again Laura, taking dictation does not equal reporting the news.
This article proves something I have maintained for some time – Gary Comegys is pretty smart. The Daily Times throws softballs and Comegys doesn’t provide any unnecessary elaboration. Let’s use the TIF as an example:
But Comegys insists the city did its best in the mall agreement. He said few offers had surfaced to redevelop the property in the many years since the main mall closed.
“Really, I think we made as good a deal that we could based on the circumstances; nobody was taking the property on — it was just sitting there,” he said. “It was a big piece of real estate, a big eyesore for the community. And the citizens and the city of Salisbury are on the hook for zero dollars — if it stays undeveloped, we’re not out any money. Everything is the responsibility of the developers.”
Again, if D’Alessandro did a little research she might have asked Comegys about the TRIPLE SUBSIDY being received by the old mall property’s developers.
It does appear that the Daily Times did a little checking on Jim Ireton. They should be commended for that. Yes, I prefer Ireton’s candidacy over Comegys. I also want BOTH of them to answer tough questions. We’ll give D’Alessandro a 50 on the Ireton piece. She gets a ZERO on the Comegys press release.
