The news about Zina Pierre can't quite seem to go away. Perhaps you also read this in a recent article in The Capital:
After Wednesday's news conference, Alderwoman Classie Hoyle, D-Ward 3, said she thought the negative information about Pierre was deliberately created to destroy the candidate and replace her with another person.
"I think it was planned. It was contrived," Hoyle said.
Even though the accounts of Pierre's troubles were accurate, they weren't something she needed to alert voters to before ballots were cast, Hoyle said.
"She shouldn't have to disclose it. How many of us are two steps away from that?" Hoyle said.
I was pretty shocked at those comments so I wrote an email to the Alderwoman to ask if she had been quoted accurately:
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Dear Classie:
I am trying to verify the below which I lifted from today's The Capital. Can you please verify the accuracy of these quotes? Do you want to add to or clarify or place this into context? I believe your thoughts about this, as chairperson of the Finance Committee are worth further examination. Did you really mean to say that information about Zina Pierre was created to destroy her?? Do you really believe that her financial and legal situation, especially about her actual residence should not have to be explained? Do you really believe that the $11,000 spent on IQ Associates with a bad address is not our concern? We stood next to each other at last week's news conference and I would sure like to have heard your thoughts about it at that time. Please provide me with your response by this evening.
Thank you. Paul Foer
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That was sent September 27th. Hoyle had not responded as of the morning of Sept. 30. She is usually pretty slow in responding, so I called her to give her yet more of the benefit of doubt. Readers, as always, may draw their own conclusions. However, I am not so sure if most readers would agree that we are "just two steps away from that" as in all the legal and financial troubles of Ms. Pierre. Nor do I think most of us have any questions surrounding our primary legal residence. Of course, one would also have to ask if it was a deliberate attempt to replace Pierre with another person, who might that person be? Might it be the Democratic candidate who was selected to be the nominee and who the Alderwoman was standing behind last Saturday when he re-started his campaign for mayor?
Here we have an example of an elected official with a senior role in the city's finances clearly questioning if public records about Ms. Pierre were accurate and then saying that there was really no big problem with her records and affairs. Then she gets quoted in the media to that effect and another media outlet writes and calls to ask her to verify what she said and she ignores such a request. Classie--what say ye?
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7 Comments:
I think the Capital withheld the story so the city's democratic process could be the cash cow of a local blogger. I am sure they studied it to determine what would fill the most pages. Tough economic times lead to tough choices and even though you beat them to the punch with the release, they played the timing to their profit somehow I am certain. And you, you filthy blogger with your greedy fingers on the keyboard airing someone else's dirty laundry for your measly page views. The nerve of you. It was definitely racially motivated on your part. I have never seen you show anyone else's dirty laundry, you're always brown nosing the corrupt institutions that our founding fathers envisioned free media to protect us from.
Racist Racist Racist.
If she was an illegal alien she would never have been treated this way. Might not even have been caught with her house in such disorder! We might have had an illegal alien for mayor but you had to be a racist. You should have let the capital break the story when they were good and ready to. But no you had to raise the bar on reporting in this town by beating them to it.
Now that you've reminded us all of what reporting is supposed to be, would you care to shed light on some of the city's other management issues?
Then it might be worth buying your paper. Actually, that's a really good idea - you could be the city's investigative reporter. For just 52 dollars a year, you can have media oversight of your government. Or you can give your money to the capital and they will endorse whoever they think is the favored candidate. I wonder why I don't think they are worth the 52 dollars a year..
Will...I told you never to call me at the office! Am I worth $52 per year??? CP
ps--what the @$$#% are you talking about???
So, Classie says the data on Pierre was "contrived"? Does she honestly think that? What world is she living in? Is this some side effect of some medicine? I think she must be ill in some way to say something as absurd as she did.
Perhaps we should look deeper in her current state of affairs, and perhaps question her ability to be a leader in Annapolis.
Daryl Leger
Daryl
I wish I knew. I called her and I wrote to her for clarification and an explanation, and got no response. She has a voting record and a record of service and interested residents and voters should ask her directly.
Paul,
I will try to replace the sarcasm in my post with plain speak:
I think the Capital missed the story so the city's democratic process because they are an inept media outfit that fails the citizens in their role of getting to the bottom of important and subtle local issues. I am sure they were not paying attention because they have a near monopoly on local reporting and therefore have the liberty to slack, as well as that they seem interested in the democratic party status quo agenda. bla bla. How dare you publish a significant story that exposes a prominent politician? The nerve of you. The capital only rehashed the story you created, and that is all they generally do because they are a wimpy paper which often ignores relevant controversial stories about their friends in power. It's stupid to frame this as a racial issue. You air people's dirty laundry all the time, you don't cowtow to the corrupt institutions that our founding fathers envisioned free media to protect us from. You are free media.
The racist term will not stick on you.
Our society is easier on illegal aliens than African Americans. If there's a law it should be applied across the board, but there is such a thing as prosecutorial discretion, that means allowing people to be above the law at your option, and should be illegal. We have a lot of stupid laws and many innocent people get their lives ruined because of them. Those bad laws end up making us all lawbreakers and that lowers the stature of law in all our minds for everyone. (digression over)
Now that you've reminded us all of what reporting is supposed to be, would you care to do more of it?
Then it might be worth buying your paper. Actually, that's a really good idea - you could truly investigate our government. I think the capital had or has specials for $52 per year, or $1/week, and you focus on more important issues while the capital ignores bike safety and busses as the city blows a lot of hot air about them. The capital will take your $52 per year and endorse the likely winner. The Capital needs to focus on quality local issue reporting to justify its $52 per year.
Not to totally write off the Capital - the letters to the editor are very useful. With some respect, I generally feel they enable the local government to misuse its power by failing to duly empower the electorate with good information and thereby are colluding with the decision makers to keep power with their allies.
You said, “Of course, one would also have to ask if it was a deliberate attempt to replace Pierre with another person, who might that person be? Might it be the Democratic candidate who was selected to be the nominee and who the Alderwoman was standing behind last Saturday when he re-started his campaign for mayor?”
If you are a serious Grand Conspiracy nut, you should go further. Who benefits if CP blames the White Guy for the replacement? Obviously, it is Dave Cordle! So, you are dumping on Josh and secretly stumping for Cordle? Or, is it Fox?
Your subtle columns disregard the facts that you so often published: you broke the story on Zina. You’ve said many times that it was a series of serious problems and deserved answers. So, why would you now stir up anger? Are you angry that Zina resigned? I do not think so! So, you should be applauding the person(s) who outed her. If anyone was involved in the outing [besides you & Sean] that he or she is on your side. Right?
So, back to the quote at the top: What is the point? Or, have I already answered the question?
I don't think I am a grand conspiracy nut and it's pretty difficult to go further. And who is paying me to do so? I don't think I am dumping or stumping for anyone, but if you have a theory and can back it up with some facts, please go ahead.
I did not "break" the story on Zina Pierre. The news was all over the city in gossip and emails and yes Facebook for a couple of days. Plenty had already gone to the state court's web-site. The Sun was working on the story for days and published it a few hours after my piece. That's a fact. If Ms. Pierre had come out months ago with that information or been sincere when it became public, she might have remained the nominee but she and her campaign disregarded every accepted rule of crisis and political management and communication. I do not understand your last paragraph.
You know what's funny? Media got blamed for not breaking the story. Media got blamed for breaking the story. What a hoot.
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