Wake up, Bob Quinn

As you know, as (managing) editor of The Photo News, it is your job to decide what gets put to print and what does not.
When a responsible editor prints an opinion piece, it is a common practice that he should request that the writer disclose anything that might be seen as a conflict of interest or disclose relationships that might serve to sway the opinion of the writer.
I’m sure you would agree that this is just a basic, common practice of responsible journalism.
A second basic, common practice, is that the editor look at the piece and see if the facts are supported and validated. Obviously, anyone can have any opinion they like, but to have these opinions expressed in print, using facts that are false, and then using these so-called “facts” to, at best, misrepresent someone’s intentions and at worst, to destroy the reputation of a group of volunteers, is unacceptable.
In the interest of full disclosure, I and my family have been residents of the Village of Monroe for 23 years. You can fact-check that by accessing public real estate records which are available to everyone.
My family regularly donates to United Monroe (the political organization dedicated to sustainable growth). You can fact-check that information as it is also available in public records.
Between United Monroe and Preserve Hudson Valley (the non-profit that is currently financing the legal costs of the 164-acre and the 507-acre annexation legal cases), I serve on three committees. I have in the past, donated a great deal of time and effort to something that I feel is worthwhile and I have every intention of doing so in the future.
Well, there you have it, you can see where my bias lies.
This brings me to the recent opinion piece published in The Photo News entitled “Wake Up Monroe”.
I want to know: did it occur to you to do due diligence and look into the motives of the writer of this piece?
It’s quite easy to do.
If you did so, you would see that Russ Ferdico runs a Facebook page and posts memes, the content of which, in my opinion, are below the intellectual level of a troubled adolescent. This Facebook page has approximately six people who post regularly.
They are all associated, in one way or another, with Harley Doles who, as we all know, voted in favor of the 164-acre annexation. Much to Doles’ dismay, this has galvanized our community.
Ferdico states that “over 300 acres of land have been signed over for high density housing.”
Have you seen any documents that support this accusation?
Did it occur to you that United Monroe is incapable of “signing over” anything, as they are a group of tireless volunteers and not elected officials?
My message is clear: Wake up, Bob Quinn. It’s time for responsible journalism to prevail.
Monica Haugh
Village of Monroe