Al Diamon
Controversy? What Controversy?
Bland is better? Every daily paper in the state ran some kind of story in the last week or so on the three candidates running for Maine attorney general. Some of the pieces did a little digging – Mal Leary of Capitol News Service came up with a couple of interesting points in his article in the Nov. 28 Bangor Daily News – some did little more than reprint the candidates’ resumes (the Associated Press, the Kennebec Journal) and some seemed more fascinated by campaign techniques than by qualifications – Matt Wickenheiser’s Dec. 2 piece in the Portland Press Herald devotes a lot of space to the politicking, but none to the contenders’ strengths and weaknesses.
A few Web sites and blogs weighed in on the contest, including Down East’s Mike Tipping, with varying degrees of bite.
But only one media outlet looked into the AG candidates’ backgrounds and discovered serious discrepancies between what was claimed and what actually happened.
Maine Public Radio’s A.J. Higgins produced a lengthy and detailed piece on Nov. 26, examining numerous instances in which AG hopeful Sean Faircloth appeared to have inflated his accomplishments.
Higgins’ reporting was ignored by the major newspapers, but seems to have been followed closely by the people who selected the AG, Democratic members of the Legislature. On Dec. 2, they handed the party’s nomination (which is tantamount to election) to one of Faircloth’s rivals, Janet Mills. Although none of the reports on Mills’ victory that I saw included her margin of victory, two legislative sources told me the vote wasn’t close and that Higgins’ story played a significant role in Faircloth’s defeat.
(Disclosure: My wife works for the Office of the Attorney General.)
Editing is worse: On Dec. 2, the Bangor Daily News ran a Press Herald piece on its front page on President-elect Barack Obama’s selection of Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador, under the headline “Obama taps Mainer for U.N. envoy.”
Rice is not a Mainer, and nothing in the Press Herald story by Kelley Bouchard indicates she is.
Rice is the daughter of a Maine native and has visited the state, where her family still maintains a summer home. The BDN didn’t post the story or the erroneous headline on its Web site, nor did it run a correction in today’s edition.
The unusually lengthy sentence is omitted from the online version of the headline, so maybe somebody noticed.
These kinds of errors are inevitable when copy editing has been classified as a luxury at most dailies in the state. And the sloppiness doesn’t stop at the headlines. A front-page story in the Dec. 2 Press Herald took its time getting to the point.
In the first paragraph of Trevor Maxwell’s piece, readers learn that an Eliot man, who had been arrested, was “preparing for the end of the world” by stockpiling guns.
But neither paranoia not gun collecting is a crime. So why was he taken into custody?
In the second paragraph, there’s a passing mention of “a marijuana growing operation.” But the subject never comes up again. If the guy was charged with being a dope dealer, there’s no mention of it here.
Finally, in the third paragraph, Maxwell gets around to telling us that the guy who was arrested is a felon, which means he isn’t allowed to possess firearms. That’s what this is all about.
A good editor would have insisted that information be put in the first sentence, bumping the sensational end-of-the-world garbage down the page. A good editor would have required the reporter to follow up on the pot-growing angle and what charges might result. A good editor would have asked why this arrest involved federal agents and wasn’t simply handled by the local cops.
Good editors at Maine dailies seem to be as common as black flies in December.
Director is hired: With the start of the new year, Mike Lange of St. Albans will become the executive director of the Maine Press Association, the organization that represents the state’s paid-circulation daily and weekly newspapers.
Lange will replace Jeff Ham, who’s headed the group since 2002.
Lange is a former editor of the Moosehead Messenger in Greenville and the Advertiser-Democrat in Norway, with two decades of journalism experience. He refers to himself as “semi-retired,” since he does freelance work for the Morning Sentinel in Waterville and the Kennebec Journal in Augusta. He’s also a frequent poster on the As Maine Goes Web site, where he sometimes comments on media issues.
The MPA originally had hired Robert Long, city editor of the Times Record in Brunswick, for the director’s job. But before Long could assume the part-time post, he was elevated to managing editor at the TR with expanded duties that precluded his taking the MPA position.
Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.
Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 in Permalink
Views expressed in this blog belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect either Down East's editorial stance or the views of Down East Enterprise. We ask that comments be civil; anyone who refuses to self edit runs the risk of being banned from commenting on Down East.com content. Further, please limit material cited from other publications to fewer than 75 words and a link; anything more riles copyright attorneys.
Reader Comments:
Tony Ronzio, editorial page editor of the Lewiston Sun Journal, sent an e-mail informing me that the 70 years/70 months headline problem was spotted and corrected in time for the paper's final edition. The error only made it into the first three editions for Franklin, Oxford Hills and River Valley.
Al Diamon
A.J's piece on Faircloth was fantastic, a reminder of what Maine's journalists should be doing: digging up important information about the people and instiutions who shape our world. Kudos to MPBN for doing some hard-hitting investigative work.
The Press Herald's contribution to candidate scrutiny was Arthur Fink's blog entry on their Press Herald Post. He didn't even mention the names of two out of the three AG candidates, but he evidently felt qualified to pick the winner. Here are some excerpts:
"Somehow I was invited to a forum for the candidates jockeying for the Maine Attorney position.
Why I was invited to this forum I might never know.
I'd have to say that Sean Faircloth was the clear winner."
Whoo. Let's have more citizen journalism!
On Dec. 4, the Press Herald updated the story on the arrest of the man in Eliot with a lot of guns. You can read the piece, attributed to "staff reports," at http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=225497&ac=phnws.
There's some additional information on the pot-growing operation, but the first paragraph still claims he stands "accused of stockpiling weapons." The third paragraph says he's "accused of hoarding weapons."
The article doesn't mention it, but neither of those things is, by itself, against the law.
It's not until paragraph seven (out of nine) that this story mentions the real legal issue: This guy is a felon, who's not allowed to possess guns.
Al Diamon
AJay's piece on Faircloth would have been great - had it been accurate. Read this (below) and decide for yourself if a decent man was hatcheted. I have no doubt this played into Faircloth's defeat. I'm a Maine native and I wouldn't have thought this to be the Maine way. Pay particular attention to the 1994 Bangor Daily News piece by Mr. Higgins.
ALL statements below from several people such as former Senate President Pray, Republican District Attorney Povich, and former Attorney General Michael Carpenter, were offered AFTER the negative statements made by Rep. Brautigam, Rep. Mills and the Republicans last Wednesday. Truth rallies fast.
Rep. Mills and Rep. Brautigam along with the Republican's specifically, and publicly, criticized Sean Faircloth, claiming Sean wasn’t appointed to the Maine Commission on Legal Needs.
Former Senate President Charles Pray: “First, Let’s get this straight: I appointed Sean Faircloth to that Commission in my stead. Last minute plotted attacks against an honorable individual do a disservice to Maine citizens. We deserve a positive campaign. Sean has run a positive campaign in keeping with the dignity of the Office of Attorney General. To do otherwise is unacceptable. I advise Rep. Faircloth's competitors to listen to Sean’s entire remarks about the Commission -- instead of an out-of-context excerpt which, I understand, Rep. Brautigam refuses to release. In those remarks, Sean talks about the high ideals to which Senator Ed Muskie inspired Sean twenty years ago when Muskie chaired that Commission. Sean Faircloth takes the high road like Muskie. Sean’s competitors would do well to follow Sean’s example, and stop going negative.
“Second, Sen. Plowman claimed Rep. Faircloth didn’t take the lead in the Deadbeat Dad law. I contacted Congressman Mike Michaud. Congressman Michaud responded specifically on this fact issue that, when, Congressman Michaud was a member of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Rep. Faircloth lead the charge on placing the deadbeat dad law into the budget after that measure died in Judiciary Committee. Congressman Michaud confirms that it was Sean Faircloth who presented a redrafted version of the bill, successfully advocating to Rep. Charlene Rydell and Rep. Michaud that the amendment be placed in the budget.”
A. Jay Higgins, who just did the negative story, wrote in the Bangor Daily News – himself -- on July 20, 1994: “Rep. Sean Faircloth (D-Bangor), a member of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, was instrumental in obtaining legislative approval for the measure….President Clinton has hailed the Maine initiative as a worthy concept and plans to incorporate it as part of his national welfare reform plan.” Long before filing his story last night, Mr. Higgins was requested – in writing – to contact Congressman Michaud and the Chair of the Judiciary Committee to confirm Sean’s statements. Instead Mr. Higgins sought out Rep. Brautigam and Rep. Mills. Mr. Higgins also could have simply checked his own story from July 20, 1994.
In Mr. Higgins’ recent negative story, Rep. Saviello attacked Sean’s ethics for speaking on the family child care provider’s bill.
Speaker Glenn Cummings: “It was perfectly appropriate for Majority Whip Faircloth to speak and vote on the family child care provider bill.” Faircloth’s wife, Aymie Walshe, organizes family child care providers. Ms. Walshe publicly advocates for this group, primarily lower-income women. Ms. Walshe got no bonus for passage of Speaker Cummings’ bill.
D.A. Evert Fowle: "I said many positive things about Sean on tape -- completely ignored in this negative story. I worked with Sean when we were drug prosecutors. I worked with Sean closely as he chaired a Commission fashioning tougher penalties for child sex abusers. We fought together against allowing career criminals out of prison earlier. Sean’s a man of integrity and courage -- as honest as the day is long. Sean does the right thing for the right reason, and fights positively for what he believes. Sean has run a consistently positive campaign. These are the qualities we need in the next Attorney General. I strongly support Sean Faircloth."
Former Attorney General Michael Carpenter: “Josh Tardy doesn’t think Sean Faircloth has the qualifications to serve as Maine’s top law enforcement officer. Well, I sure do. As a former Attorney General, I say, not only is Sean qualified, Sean has proven he’s particularly well qualified because Sean has – absolutely -- run the most positive campaign of all those running. All this negative campaigning against Sean and his high road campaign has made me more certain than ever that Sean Faircloth is the right person for the job.”
Republican D.A. Michael Povich: “One of the most important functions of the Attorney General is setting the right tone. An Attorney General must balance the needs of society: incarcerating those who are dangerous, helping those who need substance abuse and mental health treatment. That requires a strong relationship with Maine's prosecutors, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. I’ve known Sean twenty years. I saw his work toughening Maine's laws related to sexual abuse of young children. Sean, as Maine's Attorney General, will have the ability, temperament – and positive approach -- to bring diverse groups together to achieve justice.”
Instead of renouncing attacks on a Democratic colleague, Rep. Brautigam and Rep. Mills participated. Sean Faircloth, under high pressure, has -- uniquely --remained positive.
A.J. Higgins e-mailed me the following response to the above posting:
Thanks for the mention. As for that last entry, I was told by Sen. Joe Perry on Wednesday that Faircloth was on his doorstep at 7 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day with this list of selected responses (mentioned on your blog) to our piece (he only addressed the ones he wanted, ignoring the supervisory experience at the Museum and the fact that he has had little involvement with the legal community for the last 16 years and still has not explained to us why he allowed his license to lapse.) He asked Perry to put his name on this list of responses and Joe did and it was e-mailed out to members of the Legislature over T-Day.
For two weeks and right up until Wednesday afternoon -- the day of the piece -- Faircloth was asked to respond to us on these questions on tape. He rebuffed all of our efforts.
In 1994, I wrote that he was "instrumental" in the 1993 Deadbeat Dad bill in the BDN and we credited him with supporting the bill in our MPBN piece Wednesday-- but Sean was no more instrumental than John Baldacci, Debra Plowman, Phil Harriman and others who continued to work on the bill after it was killed by the Judiciary Committee, largely because it was a governor's bill. (Anti-McKernanism was still quite high in the aftermath of the shutdown.) But it wasn't Sean's leadership that got the bill into the budget. In fact, the money the bill saved was actually referred to in Approps as the "Plowman money," according to Debra Plowman.
Sean insisted that he "spearheaded" (his words) the DD bill and that his efforts were the reason the legislation was included in the 1993 budget. In the end, most everyone I've spoken with seems to agree that if one person were to be credited with "spearheading" the Deadbeat Dad bill, it would be Rep. George Kerr, D-OOB, who was on Approps at the time and rallied support for it almost solely for the reason that it generated a little more than $4.million to help close a very large budget gap at that time.
This is what we tried to point out in our story:
When Sean supports a bill, his recollection is that he "spearheaded" the legislation.
When Sean sits in for Charlie Pray for what we believe was only one meeting of the Legal Needs Commission, his recollection is that he was "appointed" to the commission when it was actually Pray who was appointed to the panel.
When Sean says he "supervised up to 20 employees" at the Discovery Museum, it turns out to be six.
When Sean stands up twice in the House on a bill to allow child care providers to unionize because he feels passionately about the issue, he doesn't disclose that his wife is being paid by the MSEA to twist the arms of his seatmates out in the hall on the same bill -- which represents a direct pecuniary interest in the outcome of that legislation since she is a member of his household. (By the way, I don't know what Cummings is saying these days, but his direct on-the-air quote was: "It may have been helpful to be a little bit more cautious and perhaps a little bit more removed from it than making a speech on the floor of the House. But I think at the end of the day Representative Faircloth felt very passionately about the issue and I think he wanted to lend his voice to it.” At no time did Cummings say to me that Faircloth's actions that day were "appropriate" in fact, his statement to me suggested that Sean's actions were ill-advised.
Probably none of these are major points to some, but we thought they were worth pursuing considering the office being sought. And we had other issues we wanted to talk with Sean about -- had he chose to talk with us. We would still like to talk with him.
BTW, my understanding was that he lost to Janet Mills in the second House vote, 68-48 and that Mills picked up nearly all of Brautigam's tally from the first round which gave her 58 percent of the votes in the final Democratic caucus tally.
Hope this keeps the record straight.
ajh
Thanks AJ. Kudos.
Reading all of the above, this appears part of a classic pattern here in Maine: sources are so accustomed to puff pieces that they completely freak out when a reporter actually does their job: independently verifies or disproves claims that are verifiable.
If we Mainers want to have an honest, efficient, and honorable political culture, we need a lot more watchdog journalism out there. There are plenty of untold stories that are more consequential than Mr. Faircloth's resume padding, all of them begging to be told by the few reporters who still have a job.)