"Totaled Recall" was an unsigned editorial posted in the Omaha World-Herald on 04-24-2008
Response to Totaled Recall
The message communicated by the World-Herald in the editorial entitled "Totaled Recall" demonstrates shallow values and servitude of the industrial complex in Omaha. The newspaper places a priority on its service to the business community and downtown Omaha (both of which they are a part) at the expense of the needs of the vast majority of the citizens of Omaha. The World-Herald places sport and entertainment above the right and duty of its people to insist on government free of negligence and malfeasance. A new ballpark and the continuation of the College World Series in Omaha are nice, but the value of free expression and the cultivation of it are far more important in the long run. By criticizing the recall effort, the newspaper sends the message that Omaha needs a new baseball stadium at all cost. That cost includes the surrender of the right to pursue honest and open governance.
Labeling everyone who signed the petition for recall of Mayor Fahey as irresponsible is defamatory. Those supporting the recall effort were not expressing their dismay at building a new ballpark. They were merely expressing their rights. As people of a democratic society, they resented a mayor who when asked "Are you having a vote on the issue?" got the response "No. You had a chance to vote when I was elected." They also wanted to demonstrate disapproval of a mayor who was arrogant enough to appoint only those in favor of his viewpoint to the decision-making committee. These were the issues about the ballpark. Not all but many who signed the petition are in favor of the ballpark or don't care one way or the other.
The World-Herald called the shortage of signatures a defeat. The only entity working at defeating the recall effort was the World-Herald. That was hardly a bold or courageous act when the only newspaper in town can regularly print its biased views and hold up to public ridicule anyone with whom it disagrees without fear of retribution simply because it has a monopoly on the news in Omaha. The outcome of the recall effort would more accurately be described as a partial success. No one would want to see eight thousand signatures from registered voters who were against him. The effort by the World-Herald and the Mayor to make those signatures out to be a positive thing is laughable. Compare the meaning of 8200 signatures of registered voters to 2000 Internet signatures of unknown origin which the mayor reportedly carried with him to the NCAA meeting.
To publish in the newspaper's opinion page, the World-Herald sets some guidelines.
Those guidelines state that letters may be edited for taste and letters containing substantial misrepresentations of fact will not be considered.
The editorial entitled "Totaled Recall" began with a substantial misrepresentation of the facts by stating that the recall was an effort to embarrass the mayor.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
They didn't want to embarrass him. They wanted to fire him!
According to Greg Lyons, the timing of the recall to have an election during the College World Series was never discussed. That was happenstance--not premeditation. To describe it otherwise only demonstrated paranoia.
The tone of the editorial was in poor taste. It was an attempt to place fear in anyone who would take part in an effort to recall the mayor. The recall effort was an attempt to seek more democratic representation by an elected official. In fair and objective reporting there would have been credit given to patriotic citizens who were involved with the governmental process rather than maligning them. Isn't it better that people are courageous enough to stand up for what they believe? Is it all right to be apathetic? Is it preferable to pursue the values of sport and entertainment at the expense of forgoing the right to demand good governance?
The recall effort admittedly was only partially successful for lack of organization, money, time, and the restrictions recently placed on the petition process by the legislature. (Whose interests was the legislature serving?). Although the World-Herald used the new stadium issue to stir the emotions of the public about the recall effort, the stadium issue was related to the recall only in so far as the mayor behaved badly in the decision making process.
Another part of the Mayor's behavior which people considered negligence or malfeasance was his failure to do due diligence in writing contracts with the police and fire unions. In addition, failure to address long standing sewer and street issues, his arrogance, and spending his time and the tax dollars on entertainment issues while ignoring infrastructure issues were real reasons for the recall. It's a substantial misrepresentation of the facts to state otherwise. It must make those people who know their true reasons for signing the recall petition angry to see the World-Herald ascribe false motives to them.
One might say it's a good thing that only a small percentage of people read the editorial page. But that also says something about the health of our democracy. Could it be that an uninformed apathetic citizenry is largely responsible for the erosion of the petition process as well as the partially successful effort to recall Mayor Fahey?
--Atley Wedemeyer
04-25-2008
