Letter: Recall writer says blame mayor, not the city staff

I am writing in regards to your column about the recall of Mayor Siegel, in the Feb. 1, 2014 issue of the Hanford Sentinel.  I find your reporter has a great ability to put his slant on an issue, leave sentences out and basically change the meaning of a story.

When your reporter called me I told him I was not blaming the City Manager or the City Clerk. They are new on the job and don’t have the experience to know all the rules and regulations associated with the jobs.  You left this sentence out of the column, and to read the article you would think that Mr. Laws and Ms. Venegas were the bad guys. The truth is they are both very nice and trying to do their best in a brand new job they are filling.  However, Mr. Siegel has run for office twice and should know the rules pertaining to running for City Council are the same rules as for a recall.  He should never have contacted the City Manager or City Clerk.

The Sentinel’s headline read “Recall group questions use of letterhead.”  I didn’t question it, I knew it was illegal. The reporter states in the article “It is unclear whether Siegel or the city did anything illegal.”  Is this your way of saying Mr. Siegel did nothing wrong?

The recall of Billy Siegel is NOT a fight between the City of Lemoore and our recall committee, but the reporter would like the readers of the Hanford Sentinel to think so.  Mr. Siegel’s answer to our Intent to Recall seems to speak for the entire City Council not just himself.  We are not recalling the entire council, just Mr. Siegel.

Jane Dart

Recall William Siegel Committee

Editor's note: This letter was written in response to an article in The Hanford Sentinel, not The Leader.

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