Annapolis Capital Punishment

On October 19 I posted a piece about Annapolis and Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce President Bob Burdon, taking him to task for a column he penned in the local newspaper. The next day I received an anonymous and unsolicited comment about Mr. Burdon's job performance and the chamber's circumstances. I sent the comments to Mr. Burdon and chamber board chair Larry Ulvila, asking them to admit or deny the claims and comment upon them, but they responded with a rather threatening letter suggesting I might be in serious trouble for publishing the allegations. By that time, my newer post asking the commenter to come forward resulted in the anonymous chamber member contacting me. It has since become apparent that dissatisfaction with Burdon's tenure might be widespread and that the chamber might have bigger problems as well.

Here is the original anonymous letter I received:

I totally agree with your comments, as I have found Bob Burdon's articles the last few months increasingly difficult to follow and comprehend. Most of his articles blame the government or its officials for the business environment and rarely do his topics pertain to the local Chamber's issues.
Let's keep in mind that Mr. Burdon is merely an administrator for the Chamber who manages the day-to-day activities. He is not elected by the members. He has been in this role for 10 years, but he has not earned one certification and he has yet to lead this Chamber to a US Chamber of Commerce Accreditation. He recently had 3 board members resign because he did not want to make the improvements necessary to grow and strengthen the membership. Last year, he ran an unsuccessful Speakers Forum that netted a major loss for the Chamber. He could not generate a profit for the Maryland Seafood Festival for the first time in over 15 years as the Chamber mandated President; this year, he cancelled the festival after 42 successful years. Yet, no members can voice their frustration with the lack of direction and leadership of this Chamber in fear that they will be black-listed and shunned by other Annapolis businesses.
The Chamber desperately needs a new CEO, but the Chamber's board would rather turn a blind eye than to roll up its shirt sleeves and get down to the real business at hand...generating business locally between its members.
Until the Board decides to make a drastic management change, we are left with a Bureaucrat pretending to be a business leader.
- A Fearful Chamber Member

I then posted a piece asking for the writer to identify him or herself to me, which he/she did and we have had numerous email and phone communications.

Here is my letter to Burdon and Ulvila requesting their response:

"I recently published a piece about your column in The Capital on my blog Annapolis Capital Punishment. I received an anonymous comment in response which I am forwarding to you so that you may have the opportunity to respond before I publish the letter. I am not pleased about receiving anonymous letters but that seems to be what often happens in the blogosphere. I have published an open letter asking the anonymous commenter to come forward and substantiate his or her claims and to reveal his or her identity to me, with assurances to protect that person's anonymity.

Any clarification or rebuttal you can supply will certainly help tell your side of this story. I intend to publish this by Thursday afternoon so you have two business days to provide a reply. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Paul Foer
www.AnnapolisCapitalPunishment.blogspot.com"


That note was sent with specific questions inserted into the anonymous email asking for comments. Here is Burdon's reply to me:

As a former journalist and newspaper publisher myself for 18 years, I would suggest that you are faced with a significant test of journalistic ethics and integrity on deciding whether to publish an anonymous letter of questionable content from an individual claiming to be a Chamber of Commerce member.

Larry Ulvila and I will not comment or respond to such a letter, and will leave it to the anonymous letter writer to provide you with the substantiation your seek for his/her allegations.

That said, please be advised that publication by you of such a letter without proper sourcing, documentation, and substantiation would constitute a willful act of negligence inconsistent with acceptable journalistic standards.

Best regards,

Bob Burdon
President/CEO
Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

To which I replied:

Your threatening letter which avoids substantively dealing with any of the allegations brought up will likely be interpreted as being done for the purpose of having a "chilling effect" on free speech.

I have given you an opportunity to respond as I have given the anonymous letter writer an opportunity to reveal his or her identity to me--which that person has done--and in a credible manner has established him or herself as an active chamber member with knowledge of this issue.

My readers can determine what to believe after seeing that you have refused to comment and instead tried to scare me. However, you seem to feel that your experience as a journalist and publisher has provided you with the judgment to respond in the manner you have chosen. Therefore, my readers will have to go with your letter and no direct replies from you to any of the allegations.

Sincerely,

Paul Foer

Dear CP Readers--Stay Tuned. There is a lot more coming from other chamber members who are equally dissatisfied and angry. If you are a chamber member or know one, please feel free to communicate any concerns you may have. The members who have already responded have asked to remain anonymous. That ought to tell us a thing or two.

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