Letters to the Editor – March 25, 2021

To the Editor:
Anyone in public office, especially elective office, should never hesitate to recuse himself/herself from an issue about which there may be a conflict of interest or, just as important, the appearance of a conflict.

If this is a principle elected officials honor, and especially in this fine little town of Charlotte, then our democracy and the good of our people thrive.
Dennis Delaney
Former state senator
Charlotte

To the Editor:
In my public management experience, I learned that a board’s purpose is to support and ensure that the mission of the organization is accomplished. The board gives to the manager authority over staff to fulfill that mission. When that mission is not being accomplished or the organization is compromised, the board and the Publisher/Manager must act.

In the 60 years of The News’ existence, many writers and editors have come and gone. Hundreds of volunteers have written articles and informed the community about births and deaths, schedules, school affairs, and the happenings of local government. I am pleased to have been one such volunteer. Some articles have been brilliant, some mediocre. But The News has continued to pursue its goals.

We must remember that The Charlotte News is not the New York Times. We are not expecting brilliant writing with each edition, nor investigative journalism on the order of major U.S. newspapers. We were not getting that; just good writing on local issues by many writers in the community. Chea Evans is a good writer but we were not nominating her for a Pulitzer for her articles on Pumpkin Man. I know little about the conflict within the staff and departing board members that has created the vitriol of the past few weeks. But I do know the board has acted to support The News. I need not know of the personnel issues involved in this action.

Conspiratorial stories by journalists or others who should know better are destructive and should not be supported by the community or other news outlets.

Nancy Richardson

Nancy covers education for The Charlotte News.