Taylor responds to Brown's unfounded allegation in Courier

Taylor has the support of Councilors Rebecca Williams, Cory Storch.

Plainfield's contested Democratic primary got an overview by the Courier in a story in Monday's print edition and online here. At-large candidate Roni Taylor is crying foul, saying Courier reporter Mark Spivey never told her of Rev. Brown's accusation or she would surely have answered it.

I am posting Taylor's response in full, which can also be found on her blog (see here) --

Courier-News Ambushes Me with Unfounded Allegation by PMUA Commissioner Tracey Brown

I was shocked and disappointed to read the Courier's online story today concerning the Democratic primary race in which both I and PMUA Commissioner Rev. Tracey Brown are candidates (You can read the story here).

Reporter Mark Spivey writes that "Rev. Brown claims that Taylor and her campaign attacked the reputation of [Brown's] church."

Neither I nor my campaign has ever made a personal attack on Tracey Brown nor have I or my campaign made any negative reference to her church. In fact, I have friends and students who belong to her church, and I have previously said, I respect the work her church does in the community.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: This campaign is about how voters can make a decision on a candidate. And I believe that has to be based on answering the voters' questions about a candidate's public service.

I am disappointed in two ways with Spivey's reporting. First, he never relayed Rev. Brown's allegation to me when I was interviewed, and failed to give me a chance to answer it.  Secondly, he let Rev. Brown get away with smearing me evidently without challenging her to prove her allegation either by showing him campaign material in support of her claim or vouching that she had actually heard such remarks. These are serious professional lapses for a journalist, and the calls, emails, and Facebook messages I have already received from my supporters about this story show all clearly show that they feel the Courier has done a sloppy, biased, and non-fact-checked story.

This is hardly the standard of objective reporting we have a right to expect from a newspaper and I certainly hope the Courier News apologizes, even though such an apology would no doubt come after the election is over.

My entire career in public service, whether in my ten years on the Board of Ed, my service as a Plainfield Housing Authority commissioner or my volunteer activities with organizations like the League of Women Voters, has been to conduct myself in an ethical and above-board fashion and to hold myself accountable to those who have given me leadership responsibilities.

I certainly hope the voters will see this smear for what it is, an untruth, and will support me in Tuesday's Democratic primary election by voting for Veronica Taylor on Row 7B.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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