Ladies & Gentlemen, over time I have poked fun at Gary Comegys and even went on the attack against him all the way up till yesterday. While I may not agree on many of his visions and decisions on policy, Salisbury News has grown to a level in which we must consider local elections very seriously and allow each Candidate to have their fair shake at trying to win their seat as Mayor or City Council.
Joe Albero's view of things is not one that will always be right and I think that showed in the Congressional Race between Frank Kratovil and Andy Harris. While I believe Andy was the best Candidate for Congress, the Voters made their choice and I should have learned my lesson then.
Most recently we brought on board Two Sentz to broaden the democratic side of politics and have openly allowed them to share their thoughts because I firmly believe to this day it was the right thing to do and I hope you feel the same way.
As we honestly get closer and closer to truly competing with the Daily Times, I continue to hear daily that more and more people are cancelling their subscriptions and are now coming to Salisbury News. While our numbers increase every day and stay steady after they rise, we have a serious responsibility of being fair and that's what I'm going to do.
That being said, we have to be more fair on spreading news and information on serious issues like elections. Tonight I called Mr. Comegys and I personally apologized to him for the way I have treated him. I also asked Mr. Comegys to forgive me for my past and I openly invited him to share any and all Press Releases with Salisbury News and I guaranteed him on my word that each and every one of them would be posted EXACTLY as he delivers them to me, should he elect to do so. Mr. Comegys accepted my apology and today is a brand new day for local politics.
I will make that same offer to ANY and ALL Candidates across the board on Mayoral and City Council Seats. My rules to comments on such will be as follows. No cursing and no personal attacks within comments. If you would like to argue policy, go for it. We need to make this a healthy debate. I'll welcome ONE Press Release per week from each Candidate, should they choose to do so.
I also believe we may want to create around 5 to 10 questions a week from readers to the Candidates that can be sent to alberobutzo@wmconnect.com. We will throw those questions out to the Candidates in a post and if they choose to respond, so be it. If they do not, well, it is what it is. They will be fair questions concerning the main interests of the taxpayers of Salisbury. I will start each reply from the Candidates with the questions first and then their reply under each question.
I hope everyone welcomes this new format and while I may not be making many friends with what I'm about to do, I'll at least know I have been fair and honest with my intent and that's all that counts.
GO HERE to see Mr. Comegys Website.
24 comments:
GO JOE!
This place may have some hope after all. I was starting to lose faith in our system and, frankly, considering a move to another area.
It seems like we're on a free fall in a bad bad way. I live in Eastside Delmar...twice in the last couple of weeks I've had police driving down our road looking for criminals. I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to have to choose between a large dog or a gun. I don't want to see people I know or know of in the news as victims of crimes. We should not have to live like this.
It sounds like we might have an opportunity, courtsey of sbynews, to actually sort out the positions and issues important as new leaders
are elected. Hurray to Joe!
Joe, the number one question I would like to ask the candidates is "if elected, what, if anything, will you do about the Salisbury Chief of Police"?
In today's Daily Times, there was a summary of questions about the various positions each candidate had and the "issue" of CRIME was most prevelent.
This is not a "third rail" issue. The accepted position from most in the criminal justice field is one of no support for Chief Webster.
Well, candidates???? What about it? What will you do about the chief if elected. Thanks.
Best wishes on the new format. I hope your readers are on board with it and can change as well. And a stronger editing hand on comments will be welcome. Don't spread the hate....
It is fine to be fair to these guys, but be fair! Gary still has an abysmal record, he still is part of a party machine that will sink to the lowest level of politics (remember what they did to Tim Spies), he still is in the pocket of SAPOA, he still behaves in a disgraceful way to Terry and Debbie, and he still parks his car behind his house during work hours. The guy does a couple of charity walks (during a political campaign, not before) and suddenly he is a great guy? I don't think so.
While I personally prefer to hear only news that favors my point of view;-) I respect what you are doing here. People do need to hear both sides and I am sure you have noticed the subscriptions of large new outlets falling because they are so slanted to the left(New York Slimes), while outlets like Fox are continuing to be very profitable. I am sure it wont be long until the NY Slimes is asking for a bailout.
I would like Comegys to tell us what evidence there is in his record that this equation is incorrect: Gary=Barrie. I want him to detail specific instances where he has voted his independent conscience (meaning, votes which were not aligned with Barrie). There surely are few, if any.
What are is their thoughts of merging the Sheriff's Dept. & the City Police.
Kudos Joe. We do need fair and balanced. Comments and opinions are just that.
Old saying is. "you can catch more flies with sugar than you can vinegar."
The jokes posted yesterday were better than the funny pages. Maybe that could be a Sunday regular, funny pages?
It's going to snow a foot deep. Joe Albero and Gary Comegys in the same sentence doesn't even fit. I will give credit to Joe, it takes a bigger man to apologize. Would Gary have done this? I think not. He is running for mayor and will use every outlet he can to garner support. This is ok and the way it should be. However, I hope Joe doesn't ever make the mistake of thinking Gary Comegys is his friend. He is not and never will be. Like Louise Smith, he knows when to smile.
"However, I hope Joe doesn't ever make the mistake of thinking Gary Comegys is his friend."
Then what is the point of giving people a fair chance?
Gary Comegys is not Joe's friend, he is just doing whatever it takes to get elected. You think Louise Smith pulled a good one? Comegys is cut from the same cloth. Here's how you can be fair--look at the guy's record. Look at how he has treated people. Look at who is financing his campaign. Look at where he gets his ideas from (hint: Ireton's website). Don't be fooled, Salisbury.
It's not about being friends, it's about peacefully coexisting.
I would ask Gary Comegys if he thinks it's right to have his landlord buddies plant his campaign signs all over town on their rental properties when the people living in those properties don't necessarily support Comegys and have no say about the sign being planted in front of their rental units.
Look, let's get a few things straight here. Number one, I CALLED GARY COMEGYS. He did not contact me. I'm the one that felt a change was necessary for all of you.
As for the comment about Gary andI being friends, I think not. Look, I'd rather have a distant relationship with Gary Comegys than one that is not real.
Gary may not come off as the smartest Candidate but let me assure you, the man knows City Business. I'll not discuss my conversation with Gary last night as I assured him that conversation was off the record and I meant it.
Hopefully Gary will respect my position as I have respected his, that's the key here. Mayor Tilghman simply could NOT work with ANYONE who disagreed with her in any way and she'd cut you off at the knees every opportunity she got.
By now Gary realizes you can't stop Salisbury News as it has taken on a life of its own. We're a part of the local MSM and that's all there is to it. As long as I'm not lied to, I have NO PROBLEM with anyone. That's the other key everyone must realize. I can forgive and move on, just as Gary has agreed to do so.
Don't try to make this thing out to be anything other than it is. Gary deserves the right to run and he deserves to be treated fairly. That's what Salisbury News will deliver.
Say it isnt so Joe ! Let me get this straight. You have decided to sensor commenters opinions and allow (endorse) any person running for a office ?
In other words you are not having opposing veiws ? Only unbiased opinions are to be permitted to post?
If people cant read the different sides or feelimgs of others then you are losing half of what makes SbyNews interesting to your readers.
Wouldnt it make your blog sortta like the Wall Street Journal ? It has been the ability to air my differences to a "large" group of people that has been most attractive about your blog in the first place.
Yes you are the fastest reporter on local happenings but it seems that now you are stopping public imput on those happenings also.
I truely hope you reconsider you position . Or why not just inable commenting all together? If it has grown to large for you to be able to handle all comments to be posted,and I know it must take alot of your time up, then why not allow several of your team "dozen" to pick up some slack.
Please dont fix what isnt broken. It dosnt feel like the right thing to do.
A faithful reader .
9:31 said: "I will give credit to Joe, it takes a bigger man to apologize. Would Gary have done this? I think not."
No, Gary Comegys would not have done this. He denounced the blogs in the last campaign and denounced anyone that would not denounce them.
Comegys has slapped citizens in the face with some of his comments and emails. And remember how he condemned Campbell and Cohen for the horrific acts of holding public input meetings and putting out information on a website?
That said, Joe Albero, you ARE the bigger man. And I agree that a lot of the personal attacks need to go.
There is plenty of news copy to be had off Comegys' record.
But the mere fact that he's harshly condemned so many for disagreeing with him and done nothing to mend fences shows why he is nothing but Gary=Barrie and not fit to be mayor.
Now see, that wasn't a personal attack, just the facts about his behavior in office.
Just MY two cents. I congratulate you, Joe, on setting a good direction. And a good example! This will be a good thing for everyone running and for the voters.
I commend you on your efforts, Joe. If indeed your intent here is to compete with The Daily Times as a true media source, as your post suggests, then you'll want to get out of "attack mode". I like to read your blog - as well as The Times and other sources - to form my own opinion about issues. If you present as many facts without bias as you can, your readers will hopefully have enough intelligence to decide for themselves what to think. And if Mr. Comegys is as awful as you and your commenters have previously suggested, then his record - not constant mudslinging - will prove it.
So you're a legit reporter now? I find that hard to swallow.
anonymous 10:41 is one of the Anti Albero Bloggers once again. They just can't stop coming to this Site and they'll never get it.
No, I am not a reporter, I am a Blogger. They tent to enjoy throwing out the reporter word or journalist word and tie me into being one of them, yet you never see me stating such. Their hope is that all of you will believe I said it. I did not, I have not and I will not. I'm very proud to have started a Blog with 25 visitors a day into something so big EVERYONE knows everyone comes here daily. I don't have to advertise how many hits I get a day and that kills them. When I say its in the thousands per day, that should say enough. This Blogger has come a long way and keeps growing daily. Thanks for the support Folks.
I have to hand it to you. You allow opposing viewpoints.
Which is a lot more than some other local blogs.
Just my two cents.
Well you opened the door, let see what he does with it. this should be interesting.
Glad your leaving off the personal attacks.
But I'll never vote for that man. He runs on ego, not for the people.
Those of us who have burned by him in the past know what he'll do to get himself ahead.
Does leaving off your personal attacks mean that you wont air any wrongs about a person that some of us people dont know of ?
And wouldnt that influence people in its self ? I want all the dirt on a person. And you have been given opertunities to air it. Please dont turn into one of the meres puppets!
The people have spoken. And Im pretty sure all the postings saying good decision not attacking anymore are from those that have reason for you to remain silent.
Dont give in to the man Joe.
"Look, let's get a few things straight here. Number one, I CALLED GARY COMEGYS. He did not contact me. I'm the one that felt a change was necessary for all of you."
Huh? You felt "change was necessary for all" of us?
Joe, say it ain't so. I think I am reading the Daily Times here.
I'm a big supporter of your blog, but you have lost your way.
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