A Letter To The Editor

After being named in the July 1 edition of the local paper as one of the newly elected candidates accusing the prior village council of being corrupt, I called the paper and spoke with the editor, attempting to clear my name being very clear that “I never said, wrote, insinuated, gossiped or accused anyone on the former council of being involved in any criminal behavior”. I was told “there would be a retraction in the following paper”. In the July 7th edition a retraction was printed and I quote, “In a report June 30th about the Stockbridge Village council titled Goals Prove Elusive, it was stated four candidates felt there was belief the former council was involved in corruption. In fact, only one candidate expressed that, and has since retracted the statement”.

During the campaign and after the election I purposely didn’t take part in all the print arguing even when I was being attacked myself. I felt the needs of the public were more important than grandstanding and pointing fingers. I still feel that way. As a resident in this community, like anyone else, I strive for the respect of the people I serve. I find the actions of our local paper to be irresponsible and reckless. As one of the architects of our great nation said “Never get into an argument with some one that buys ink by the barrel”. When it comes to misrepresenting me, I feel it’s necessary to set the record straight. I feel very strongly about individual character and moral behavior as it pertains to everyday life.

I gave the paper the opportunity to set the record straight and gave them the benefit of the doubt. After reviewing the so called retraction and understanding how the author was attempting to manipulate their readers by not naming me as one who never accused anyone of being corrupt, I decided to write this letter to the editor of The Stockbridge Citizen Herald. I believe in fairness and above all printing the truth, so please hear me when I say that “I never would accuse anyone of foul play and all the folks that have served before me deserve the respect of the job they have done”. The public voted to make changes in our community; this is why we have elections. I thank all the folks that voted for me and as stated before “I take this job very seriously and I enjoy serving the community where I live and do business” I would hope in the future that our local paper would take better care of serving the public in a more professional manner. The readers deserve all the facts - not a mere interpretation or a particular slant of those facts. Thank you Herald readers.

Greg Uihlein