Inventing Evidence: Don’t Be Fooled By Negative Spinners

Inventing Evidence:
Don’t Be Fooled By Negative Spinners
By Susan M. Halpern
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)

The negative spinners were in attendance at the Mayor’s April coffee. Several asked questions, making the unfortunate choice to do so in a hostile, accusatory manner.  One (who is again running for council after being defeated last May) refused to even acknowledge Mayor Joe Chow by name, despite clearly knowing the Mayor’s name and title. This candidate instead referred to Mayor Chow as “the man in the blue suit.”  How disrespectful and so unnecessary.

But here’s the really incredible thing. After staging all this hostility and disrespect, the captive facts-don’t-matter blog claimed that “major dissension” had “erupted” at the Mayor’s coffee.  How utterly absurd.  These folks are rude to the mayor, they stage what was clearly a pre-scripted spectacle, and then cite their own behavior as evidence of dissent in Addison.  It’s ridiculous.

The key to it all is the unspoken premise of their claims: That what occurred was actually spontaneous. And that is clearly untrue.

But then, it’s not the first time the negative spinners have pulled this trick.  These are the same folks who brought us the supposedly “unsolicited” letter from the east coast politico who was portrayed as a stranger.  All of which implied that the reader should ascribe enhanced significance to his “unsolicited” letter which, of course, ever-so-conveniently took up the cause of the negative spinners.

Except that it was all a lie. I exposed the truth in my 2016, three-part “I Smell A Rat” series.   Mr. East Coast was actually Mr. Local.  He and I had a common link on LinkedIn: none other than a council candidate who was supported by the negative spinners.  And then, lo and behold, Mr. Local turned up yet again in the 2017 election, this time as a paid political consultant to the losing mayoral candidate.  Who, of course, was supported by the negative spinners.  All of which confirmed that the supposedly “unsolicited” letter from Mr. Local was just another ruse designed to mislead Addison voters.

The staged hostility that occurred at the Mayor’s coffee is more of the same. It is an utter fiction that has no probative value whatsoever.  Don’t be fooled.  And, by the way, expect these same folks to bring their hostile tactics to the upcoming Town Meeting.  I predict that subjects will include the creek issue that was settled until the ex-mayor stepped in and tanked the settlement, and the wind turbine lawsuit that has (finally) been settled.  They’ll do the same thing, asking questions in an antagonistic and accusatory way.  And then they’ll publish another blog falsely claiming that “dissension erupted” at the Town Hall meeting.

Don’t fall for it, Addison. Ignore these tactics.  Help Addison to keep moving forward so that we can restore Addison to the true Addison Way.