To the editor:
In a letter to the editor written by Adam Wheeler, (Item, Aug. 31) he said, “If you work for The Item, please make it a priority to stay on top of the actions of all local politicians and follow up to ensure that politicians do the things they are required to do by law. Your job is to keep our government officials honest. The people of Lynn need you to do this. Please don’t let us down.”
Less than a week after the preliminary election, the editors of The Item are already misleading the public with inaccurate information. It is no secret; Darren Cyr is not the candidate The Item wants as mayor.
However, the editors do not have the right to rewrite Nicholson’s past in our city in order to make him more appealing to Lynners. Here is an example: in Sept. 16’s editorial, “Lynn Development Vote Lacked Planner’s Insight.”
The editors printed inaccurate information. It states: “Beginning in 2013, the Lynn City Council’s most forward-thinking members sketched out zoning reforms with the aid of legal experts, including School Committee member and attorney Jared Nicholson (who is also running for mayor).”
Let’s look at The Item’s reporting on zoning changes: The Item first reported the zoning changes on Sept. 27, 2012 in an article written by Thor Jourgensen, “Lynn Seeks Faster Permitting Process’.”
He wrote about Lynn’s city councilors’ desire “to speed up the permitting process for developers interested in building on the Lynnway and make it easier for small businesses to obtain city permits.”
First, Nicholson could not have been a legal expert in 2012 or 2013 since he was in law school at the time and, therefore, not an attorney at the time. In order to be considered a legal expert, I would suggest the person first have the experience and, in this circumstance, a law degree to practice law.
The only piece written mentioning Nicholson published around the time by The Item was in November of 2014 and there was no mention of his work with Lynn City Council, nor his work on zoning reform — only that his great-great grandfather was the city treasurer of Lynn, which I was not able to verify.
Nicholson’s claim that his great-great grandfather was city treasurer was not repeated again, only that his great-great grandfather graduated from Classical about 100 years ago.
You should have thanked those that deserve credit with the forward-thinking approach at the time, like Peter Capano, Ralph Sevinor, Taso Nikolakopoulos, James Cowdell, and James Marsh, not Jared Nicholson (Read Thor’s article for a refresher).
Enough with pushing a candidate and rewriting history ― now is the time to write the honest truth, as we are depending on you for accuracy. This makes it look like The Item is coordinating with the Nicholson campaign. The media has been under attack more than ever the past six years. If you won’t hold yourself accountable to report honest, accurate, and complete news, then move on.
Marissa Pike
Lynn
