I am writing in response to Mr. Torrance’s article from Nov. 28, reporting on the Candidate’s Night held on Nov. 27.
I was present at the event and knew nothing about the candidates beforehand. Reading Torrance’s summary article, I wonder whether he was in a completely different room than the forum I attended. Torrance’s article promises details it doesn’t deliver, gets basic facts wrong and is written like an opinion piece instead of a news story.
The headline promises reporting on “candidate visions” yet the article fails to provide details about them.
This article then gets a basic fact wrong by calling the forum a “debate” when it was named and publicized as a “candidates’ night.”
Our local League of Women Voters does not run debates, nor are they ever publicized as debates. Debates may sound more contentious and therefore potentially interesting to readers but a good reporter provides the information promised by the headline and gets the details right.
Further, three omissions in the article must be addressed as they create a lopsided view of the issues discussed and make this article read like an opinion piece rather than an informative article.
First, describing Angela Lawlor Mullins as a former New York City detective is like saying that Justin Timberlake is a former pop star. It grossly understates her having served in several elite squads within the NYPD and then as detective investigator for the district attorney of New York County.
However, the author states only that she is a former detective, and omits important details directly relevant to her law enforcement experience which were stated at the forum.
Second, the article also states that Lawlor Mullins missed a meeting (due to surgery), and that (Stephen) Scott attended the meeting. The article completely fails to report that Lawlor Mullins attended all other commission meetings, as well as numerous budget hearings, significant points that should have been directly stated.
Especially since it appears, by comparison, Scott only attended one meeting for the commission he seeks to join.
Finally, the article leads with Scott’s claim that his background in construction will help with the police department’s decision to move to a newer/renovated building and its subsequent execution.
Although the article correctly notes Scott’s comment, it provides no context for this point. There is no mention anywhere in the article that the commission already has two members with business backgrounds, who have attended conferences specific to the relocation/renovation issue, that came up during the debate.
It is likewise devoid of any mention of Commissioner Lawlor Mullins’ comments regarding her focuses on the commission. To his credit, though, Torrance, does point out that Mullins is the longest serving of the department’s three commissioners.
Blank Slate is developing a strong reputation for publishing a wide range of local opinions and an interesting editorial voice.
To provide “news that is most important,” it must provide local news that is trustworthy. Although any summary is bound to have omissions, the article misses so many important points that it is at best misleading and a gross disservice to voters who could not attend the debate.
It certainly underlined the importance of attending these events in person.
Jessica Weaver
Port Washington
