"Ja accuse"??? I think not!
To the Editorial Staff, Groton Herald:
And all others who would criticize an elected 0fficer of the Town of Groton for being true to the responsibilities of his or her position, ...Shame!
Groton Selectman John "Jack" Petropoulos, an elected member of the Executive branch of Groton's town government, along with each of the four other Selectmen we've elected, shoulders the ultimate responsibility for insuring the safety of Groton's citizens and protection of their property.
On Monday evening, January 20, in a regularly scheduled Groton Board of Selectmen ("BOS") Meeting, Selectman Petropoulos, in a painfully defensive, even embarrassed, acknowledgement of that responsibility, made a presentation bringing to the attention of his fellow Selectmen that fiscal cost cutting measures, initiated by the Groton Town Manager's Office, as directed by the FinCom, had been impacting Groton's fire fighting and ambulance/EMT response capability during the critical weekday hours of 8a.m. to 4 p.m..
Now, for what its worth, I don't believe it was the intent of the Groton Herald to shut down one of the essential elements of our democratic process, i.e., the right to speak out on issues of public safety without fear of recrimination, but having reviewed the Vimeo video coverage of that portion of the 1/20/2014 meeting several times, I fear the Groton Herald's reaction to Selectman Petropoulos' presentation, with phrases like "irresponsible and reckless", or acting without a "...firm grasp of the facts.", in it's 1/23/2014 Editorial entitled "Clown-Car Politics", was unwarranted and came close to doing just that.
Foremost, contrary to the Groton Herald's editorial stance, there were never any verbal "Accusations", made by Selectman Petropoulos, against Groton's Town Manager (who is not Groton's "Chief Executive Officer", by the way). Indeed, on more than one occasion, in the course of discussion, there was clear deference, shown by Petropoulos, toward the Town Manager and financial role he shoulders. Moreover, the Groton Herald's editorial ignored Jack's investigative acumen, and did not acknowledge his obvious, extensive knowledge of the needs of Groton's Fire and EMT Services, gained through his role as Chairman of Groton's "Central Fire Station Relocation Committee".
By the end of that evening's BOS Meeting, in what was a surprisingly balanced group give and take, led by Vice-Chair, Josh Degan, the BOS, rather than making Selectman Petropoulos a whipping boy for his independence of thought, in essence, acknowledged the validity of Petropoulos' concern, by taking the supportive, and (I think) responsible steps of instructing the Town's Fire Chief to restore staffing to their prior levels, and then forming a Sub-committee to look deeper into the complexities of the financing and staffing issues raised by Petropoulos' presentation.
Now, although I would never deny the Groton Herald's right to it's editorial opinion, let alone it's right to express that opinion, as a reader I would have much preferred it follow what I was taught, back in the day, as a journalism student at Boston University: allow sufficient time to step back and assess the broader picture. Initiate a deeper probing of all the facts brought forth, along with scrutinizing the apparent truths those facts establish, and do both in as objective manner possible, before expressing what could be construed as inaccurate, or worst, near libelous judgment on an elected, town officer's actions.
The Groton Herald has shown itself more than capable of that aforementioned level of professional (best practices?) journalism. When it returns to same, we'll all be well served, not only by Selectman Petropoulos' courage of his convictions, as displayed that evening, but by the Groton Herald's coverage of that courage.
Just my opinion,
Scott Evans Harker
Martins Pond Road
