Here's how deliberate lies can derail civic progress, Part 2

Is it any wonder volunteers trying to perform an honest, dispassionate and nonpartisan civic duty for the people of the City of Troy become discouraged?

In the latest instance of deliberate distortion and distribution of misinformation -- or, to be blunt, outright untruths -- in the service of the same partisan politics that have soiled this community's reputation for decades, we are seeing people fanning the flames of something that does not exist. Namely, the matter of the bipartisan, all-volunteer Charter Review Commission allegedly working to eliminate term limits.

The latest person to do so is, I am greatly disappointed to report, mayoral candidate Carmella Mantello. In a press release she just fired off, Mantello claims, " ... It has become readily apparent that the new Troy Charter Commission is discussing ways to eliminate term limits without any justification. ... This is something we should all stand up and fight against.”

And, the proof of this thing that has become "readily apparent" to her? There is none, for the simple reason that there is not even the tiniest shred of truth to her statement.

My response to her nonsensical charge is precisely the same as the one I posted on this blog after reading the same charge lodged in that cowardly and anonymous "Sound Off" column in The Record newspaper on Sunday. If you missed it, here it is again:

The Record's "Sound Off" column is a daily catch-all of phoned-in comments, frequently laden with complaints, uninformed declarations, purposeful misstatements and outright lies, all submitted under a cloak of anonymity and without any effort made by the newspaper to check their accuracy. 

In the latest batch, published today, one topic is the Troy Charter Review Commission. Normally, I would ignore such ramblings, but as a Commission member I think it wise to make an effort to keep the public honestly informed. 

The anonymous sniper claims Mayor Lou Rosamilia, a Democrat, and City Councilman Jim Gordon, a Republican, conspired to appoint a Commission to eliminate term limits, a topic that always is a hot-button issue in Troy. 

That claim is more than an error, it is an outright lie, as the anonymous caller well knows. 

First of all, the matter of term limits came up at the Commission's first public hearing only because representatives of the League of Women Voters brought it up. The Commission assured the LWV and the very few others in attendance -- including reporters for The Record and the Times Union -- that (a) no discussion of term limits, pro or con, had been held -- indeed, the topic had never been raised, and (b) that the subject would be evaluated just as every item in the current City Charter would be handled. A few comments were made around the table about the topic, but that is as far as it went. If any Commission members made public comments outside the Commission sessions, I have not heard them repeated to the group as a whole.

That is the sum and substance of it. The Commission has since held a hearing, open to the public, to listen to suggestions from the mayor and a number of department heads; will hold another hearing, open to the public, to hear suggestions from City employees, and will hold yet another hearing to receive suggestions from the public -- all before going heavily into the meat of the Charter. 

And, that is the accurate picture of the matter.

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