Councilor Molly Carmody
Photo credit: City of Yelm
– Editor’s Note:
As this blogger highlighted here last Monday, the Nisqually Valley News (NVN) has recently developed some troubling signs through the use of omissions in conveying facts in some of their reports. The NVN has especially taken aim at two outspoken Yelm city council members, Molly Carmody and Joe DePinto. Carmody brought to the attention of this Blog information she addressed via e-mail to NVN reporter Graham Perednia was abridged and the sentence sequence changed in his December 8th front-page report titled: “Emails Reveal Rift Within Yelm Council.” While the newspaper takes editorial license in their stories, what has become troubling is the overuse of omissions to express the newspaper’s agenda.
The NVN’s commitment to balance and fairness took a back seat to selling newspapers.
– Councilor Carmody’s e-mail to the reporter below is unabridged.
Yellow highlights what was abridged. Used with permission.
[used with permission]:
From: Molly Carmody
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2016 7:21 PM
To: Gperednia@yelmonline.com
Subject: Email
Graham,
My official statement follows:
When interim Mayor Foster chose Jennifer Littlefield to replace Bob Isom upon Isom’s retirement, he did so despite very vocal disagreement by three members of City Council: myself, Joe DePinto, and Tad Stillwell, as well as members of the public. We had made our concerns about Littlefield very clear from the time that she applied for the position. She was voted down twice by Yelm citizens and has not shown a clear understanding of how the government works. She publicly stated that she does not shop locally. She does not have Yelm’s best interest at heart, and she represents the same “old guard” that councilmembers Wood and Hendrickson do. For too long, Yelm has been ruled by the same small number of elite families that have lived here for generations, and that don’t acknowledge that Yelm has changed dramatically even in the past 8 years, when it has nearly doubled in size. They are content to run Yelm as it was run many years ago.
Previous mayor (sic) Harding was one member of that old guard, and for many years, he controlled Yelm City government as a virtual demagogue, with the sitting council acting as his puppets. They voted exactly how he wanted them to and approved his many grandiose and cost-overrun projects that the citizens repeatedly voted down.
I was very disappointed in Foster’s choice to apppoint (sic) Littlefield to the open position, and stated so unequivocally in an email. My words were inelegant but I stand behind them. The nation voted to “drain the swamp” on a Federal level – we need to do so on a local level as well.
That being said, I applaud Mayor Foster for working to improve transparency both internally and externally. We have to work to undo years of neglect in staffing and funding and years of Harding’s abuse of his power as mayor. In 2017, Yelm needs to vote out the people who very nearly destroyed the city’s government by their inattentive non-actions.
Molly Carmody
Yelm City Council
– NVN reporter Perednia abridged Carmody’s letter, changed the sentence sequence to this striking difference, and thus the context:
“In a written statement she said she was disappointed with Foster’s decision to appoint Littlefield and she believes this is a continuation of the “old guard” families who have run Yelm for the better part of a decade,” quoting Perednia introducing Carmody’s e-mail:
“Previous Mayor Harding was one member of that old guard, and for many years, he controlled Yelm city government as a virtual demagogue, with the sitting council acting as his puppets.
They voted exactly how he wanted them to and approved his many grandiose and cost-overrun projects that the citizens repeatedly voted down.”
For too long, Yelm has been ruled by the same small number of elite families that have lived here for generations, and that don’t acknowledge that Yelm has changed dramatically even in the past eight years, when it has nearly doubled in size. They are content to run Yelm as it was run many years ago.”
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