• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Tim Fisher Steps Up, Bee Bows Out on Fictitious Campaign Mailers

January 20, 2012 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Led by former Modesto City Councilman Tim Fisher (pictured left), valley citizens stepped up to the challenge of debunking Brad Hawn’s fictitious campaign mailers this week with a flurry of letters to the editor that appeared on the Bee’s editorial pages. Fisher is an especially authoritative source because he not only served on the City Council in the mid ‘90’s, he was also on the Modesto Planning Commission in the late ’80’s and early ‘90’s when Village I was in the planning stage.

As Fisher so succinctly put it, “Calling Garrad Marsh a developer does not agree with history.” Fisher’s fact-filled letter to the editor was far more worthy of front page status than the Bee’s own coverage of the mailer controversy, which followed the typical quote-driven, “Who shot John,” formula that rarely gives readers the knowledge they need to make informed political choices.

Veteran news people and readers have long lamented the, “he said, she said,” method so popular in contemporary reporting. In the case of Hawn’s campaign mailers, the quote-driven method was especially harmful because it gave Brad Hawn and Mike Zagaris more credence than Garrad Marsh by citing the two of them as opposed to Marsh alone.

Ordinarily, “he said, she said,” reporting merely establishes false equivalencies. It’s popular because it both eliminates the need for investigation and enables reporters and news media to claim they’ve been fair by presenting “both sides.” But presenting both sides as equivalent is misleading when one side is clearly erroneous.

Although the Bee’s editorial endorsement of Marsh did chide Hawn’s use of a Bee excerpt in a, “misleading way,” it still concluded Hawn is a strong candidate. How is it that a man who has used tax payer money to put unnecessary issues on a ballot and then misrepresented the facts can be a strong candidate? What’s worse is that unless the only game in town is willing to hold candidates accountable to high standards of truth and integrity, valley citizens will continue to be subjected to fraudulent campaigns.

Should Brad Hawn win this election, it will send the message that distortion, “misleading,” and misrepresentation are merely politics as usual. And if local media fail to expose and condemn the methods of dirty politics they implicitly endorse them. It then falls to leading citizens to respond to the challenge of establishing  higher standards.

Fortunately, many citizens have spoken out in addition to Fisher, including Paul Neumann, who most often writes on educational issues. Normally reserved and very careful in his choice of words, Neumann called the mailers, “despicable.”

Valley citizens deserve better than smear campaigns and “misleading” tactics. Many  have already spoken out. Let’s hope there’s more to come.

 

Filed Under: Politics

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bruce Jones says

    January 21, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    My yet unpublished letter to the Bee on this subject ended with the challenge that Mr. Hawn owes everyone in town an apology for his — yes– unethical mailer. If he wins this race by use of such primitive misrepresentations, it will mean more city council status quo and pandering to the development community.
    We deserve better, and that would be Garrad Marsh.

    Reply
  2. Robert Stanford says

    January 21, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    I wonder how many of these letters were written by the name they were signed by….

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      January 21, 2012 at 11:29 pm

      The Bee verifies the authors by calling their homes. Many of the people are well known and write often.

      Reply
  3. Keith Roberts says

    March 15, 2012 at 4:46 am

    how does spam filter work?

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      March 15, 2012 at 12:56 pm

      I have an application that prevents posting until I approve the message.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Louis DeJoy Is Killing It
Louis DeJoy Is Killing It
While Biden dithers, Trump’s minion wrecks the postal service.
nymag.com
So What if Romney Doesn?t Solve the ?Root Causes? of Poverty?
So What if Romney Doesn’t Solve the Root Causes of Poverty?
We handle problems all the time without dealing with their root causes.
nymag.com
The Facts of Life - The Bulwark
The Facts of Life – The Bulwark
My suggestion last week that perhaps the best way some of us who’ve been conservatives can now help the country is to help the Biden administration succeed, and help the Democratic party move to the center, seems to have stirred up a minor tempest in the conservative teapot. I asked whether one shouldn’t consider allying…
thebulwark.com
WSJ News Exclusive | Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
WSJ News Exclusive | Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
Texas’s deregulated electricity market left millions in the dark last week. For the past 20 years, its consumers have paid more for their electricity than state residents who are served by traditional utilities, a WSJ investigation found.
www.wsj.com
The making of Madison Cawthorn: How falsehoods helped propel the career of a new pro-Trump star of the far right
The making of Madison Cawthorn: How falsehoods helped propel the career of a new pro-Trump star of the far right
Cawthorn has emerged as one of the most visible figures among newly arrived House Republicans, who have promoted baseless assertions and pushed a radicalized ideology that has become a driving force in the GOP.
www.washingtonpost.com
Los Angeles Just Opened a Tiny Home Village for the Homeless
Los Angeles Just Opened a Tiny Home Village for the Homeless
The colorful community was built in just 13 weeks!
www.housebeautiful.com
California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: 'The devil is already here'
California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’
California’s coronavirus strain is more transmissible than its predecessors, is more resistant to vaccines and may cause more severe cases of COVID-19.
www.latimes.com
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden's Sweeping COVID Package
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden’s Sweeping COVID Package
More than 150 business leaders from various industries have signed a letter backing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP's voters
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP’s voters
www.usatoday.com
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
In the growing community of charismatic Christian prophecy, faith in Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House is a new dividing line.
www.politico.com
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
The New York congresswoman said she would travel to Houston to highlight the problems faced by Texans hit by power outages and freezing weather.
www.newsweek.com
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
How the right-wing talk radio icon corrupted the Republican Party, spread hate, racism, and lies, and laid the groundwork for Trumpism
www.rollingstone.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design