Righting A Wrong In Ocean City? UPDATE

Yesterday we published an article about the political plane banners being removed in Ocean City. It had been reported that the Mayor and Council discussed this matter and also that Mayor Meehan had called Mr. Bunting based on hundreds of complaints, the original publishing by other news sources were wrong. 

Mayor Meehan called me moments ago to discuss the matter. While SBYNews did make attempts to speak directly with the parties involved, we were not able to make direct contact with each individual. Since the findings we had published had been published elsewhere, we believed they were accurate.

So here's what I was just told happened. There was NO council agenda to discuss this matter. At the very end of the Council Meeting they called for Mayor and Council comments. That's when Mayor Meehan brought up the fact that Mr. Bunting had called him about the matter of the banners. 

Now, why Mr. Bunting felt it was necessary to call the Mayor about his own alleged business decision is beyond me but this is what I've been told. 

To be completely fair, (and I said this to Mayor Mehan) first we have Governor Hogan turning on his own party and not supporting Donald Trump. Then we have Executive Culver turning on ALL of the taxpayers in Wicomico County with free college and now YOU are, (as published elsewhere) turning on our First Amendment rights? He said, come on Joe, you know I'd never do that. I replied, yeah, well it was published everywhere else. He replied, I know, they were wrong. 

So there you have it. Mayor Meehan states he did NOT infringe and or make the call to Mr. Bunting. Instead he stated that it was Mr. Bunting who called him. 

I will add, The Coastal Dispatch recently "updated" their original article.

“It’s just not worth the aggravation of people not being able to handle the political system. I agreed to just not accept any political ads whatsoever anymore. I’m going to lay low and not do any political ads. People just can’t handle it anymore and there’s so much hate in this world. Today’s parties want to fight each other and just be mean to each other,” Bunting said. “It’s not worth it. There’s just no tolerance anymore for opposing viewpoints. People don’t understand people buy advertising, just like they do in The Dispatch. These weren’t vulgar ads in anyway. If the Democrats want them now, guess what they don’t get them. Where’s the American way? I’ve never seen anything so nasty. People are scared to say what they really feel anymore. Everyone is just too sensitive. It’s a shame.”

Publishers Notes: The alleged people who allegedly complained are NOT the people buying advertising. As a businessman, I would have never made the decision to STOP. Something smells very funny about the flip flopping of this entire package, wouldn't you all agree? When I spoke to the Mayor he said he had TWO people complain, not 200, as implied by the local media. Anyhow, it is what it is.  

UPDATE: According to The Dispatch, complaint emails sent to city officials, the city council and Meehan were in the 'hundreds'. This quote was published world wide in The Daily Mail today.

As I mentioned earlier, Mayor Meehan stated to me today he had only received TWO complaints.