I can't count the number of times I
have told public officials over the years that the best way to avoid
a major scandal in the press is to step in front of the issue, admit
to making a bad decision and apologize.
That's exactly what Iredell County
Commissioner Renee Griffith did this week.
So why am I finding it difficult to
drum-up compassion for the embattled commissioner?
Perhaps it's because at some point in
time, when a person has made repeated slip-ups, their actions begin
to seem less like mistakes and more like a pattern of behavior.
I remember when the editor of a local
newspaper called me last year and asked if I would report on
Griffith facing foreclosure of her home. Though I understood why it was relevant – after all, most would wonder if a person can't
successfully manage his or her own personal finances, how can s/he be
expected to successfully manage the county's multi-million-dollar
budget? – but having never been blessed with a silver spoon in my
mouth – or never having been able to figure out how hard work,
alone, can make one wealthy – I could not bring myself to write the
story.
That's all to say that I felt last year
it wasn't my place to look at another human being and criticize her
personal life and choices – even though she is a commissioner. I
don't know Commissioner Griffith's personal battles and struggles.
Having a home in foreclosure is frightening, and it isn't always the
result of improper planning or even careless budgeting. Sometimes
life happens, and oftentimes, it isn't fair.
Still, in December 2011,
Mooresville Weekly reported
on court documents showing that Griffith and her husband were being
accused of missing 14 payments just before Griffith started her
two-year term on the Iredell County Board of Commissioners in
December 2010. “SunTrust Bank sent the Griffiths a notice Nov. 16,
2010, informing them that they were $14,378.58 behind in payments on
their 20-year home loan of $101,600,” reported the Weekly. “They’ll
have a foreclosure hearing later this month.”
Griffith told the newspaper that her
husband's hunting business had suffered because of the economy, and
she said that as part of a loan-modification agreement, she and her
husband had been advised not to make their mortgage payments, which
is why they “missed” 14 payments.
The article was published, people drew
their own conclusions – many, no doubt, feeling a great deal of
compassion for the commissioner as her personal life was broadcast in a public forum – and life went on.
Now, not quite a year later, Griffith has found herself embroiled in yet another
controversy. And after appearing remorseful and apologetic
yesterday in a call into
The Rick Baker Show,
it appeared – based on about half the calls that were made into the
show after Griffith hung up – that once again, the Tea Party-branded county commissioner has converted some of the anger
and bitterness toward her into syrupy-sweet sympathy.
But this time, I say: Not so fast.
Just three months from an election in
which Griffith is a frontrunner for re-election, the commissioner
admitted that she falsified documents about a building inspection for Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA),
where she is principal. Griffith altered the documents, which were
later submitted to the N.C. Division of Child Development and Early
Education (DCDEE), to indicate an inspection of CCA's building had
been performed much more recently than it actually took place.
But Griffith took it a step further
than just falsifying documents. After DCDEE caught her red-handed for
changing the date on the inspection forms, Griffith concocted a story
that a former CCA employee dropped the ball on setting up the
inspection and instead pocketed the $128.75 in petty-cash earmarked
to pay for it. Griffith went so far as to tell DCDEE that CCA would
be "calling (the employee) in and pressing charges."
Griffith later admitted to the R&L
that the entire story about the other employee was yet another lie.
No one yet knows for sure whether
Griffith had the intention to create a fictional name, or – worse –
if she used a real person's name and went so far as to accuse that
person of being a thief. The Report sent an email to Griffith this
afternoon asking her to clarify that, but I haven't heard back from
her yet.
It is also bothersome that, ironically,
at the same time Griffith's school was under investigation by the
state for her decision to illegally forge documents – but before
the controversy went public – Griffith took it upon herself, on The
Rick Baker Show, to point fingers at the Iredell-Statesville Schools
for its own brewing scandal about – you guessed it – forged
documents.
Did Griffith, on that show, divulge her
clear conflict of interest on all matters relating to document
forgery? No. In fact – contrary to the statements of those who are
praising Griffith for “coming forward” and “being honest” –
it is very likely that she would have never acknowledged or confessed
her own misdeeds had it not been for an anonymous e-mail sent late
last week to the press, including the Report, that exposed Griffith’s
flagrant misconduct.
Griffith has stated that the reason she
did not have her most recent building inspection completed and
instead decided to write through the date of an old inspection is
because she was busy selling fireworks at the time and could not
afford the inspection. I have received an overwhelming number of
phone calls and e-mails this week – similar to one of the many
calls into Rick Baker's show yesterday – from people asking how, if
Commissioner Griffith couldn't afford a building inspection, she is
driving around in a Mercedes, apparently with a 30-day tag.
I don't know the answer to that
question, or even if most would consider it "fair."
I do know a question is arising
about why Griffith apparently did not report a campaign contribution
from Lake Norman Republican Women in her 2010 bid for office.
According to state election records, the political group donated $50
to Griffith's campaign in October 2010. But Griffith did not record
that donation in any of her quarterly filings.
I also have reason to believe that
Griffith may be using her personal e-mail address – the one she
once used for county business – to circumvent the N.C. Public
Records Law.
Until recently, all county
commissioners – including Griffith – listed their personal e-mail
addresses as contact information on the county webpage. After a
citizen pointed out that the commissioners should be more transparent
and use a county e-mail address, Griffith – to her credit –
changed her e-mail to a county address.
The Report was unaware of the change
earlier this year when sending questions to the commissioners about a
sexual-harassment lawsuit filed against an Iredell County sheriff's
deputy.
I sent the email to
reneegriffith@hotmail.com – the same address once listed on the
county webpage and the one used by Griffith as recently as last month
to correspond with DCDEE.
After a brief e-mail exchange, Griffith
asked the Report not to misrepresent her statements as the combined
statement of the entire board, and I agreed, stating, “When I write
an article about this, I will absolutely attribute your comments to
you.”
Griffith replied to that, providing
answers to additional questions I had asked of her, but also stating:
“I do not want any of my comments to you to be part of an article …
”
I reminded Griffith that I had
identified myself as a blogger and listed my blog address in the
original email of questions, Journalism Ethics 101. I also reminded
Griffith that our e-mail exchange was/is a public record. And I told
her I would not agree to keep her comments confidential in the event
they would become relevant for an article.
I was floored by Griffith's response:
“This is my private email account. I have a public email through
the county. I would appreciate you respecting the privacy of my
private email. You can email the same questions to me through the
county email. IT is listed on the county webpage.”
Griffith's response made clear that she
believes e-mailed conversations through her “private email” -
even if those conversations are about county business – are
“private,” and that only conversations she holds via her public
account are public record. She could not be more wrong. And she should know better.
Several supporters of Griffith called
in to The Rick Baker Show yesterday and cited Matthew 7:3 from the
Holy Bible, which reads: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust
in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own
eye?” They also cited John 8:7: “Let any one of you who is
without sin be the first to throw a stone ...”
Judging Griffith's personal life is not
my job. But learning about someone's character by watching their
behavior is not “judging.” And what's more, it is time we stop
using something as sacred as Christianity to give a free pass to our
elected leaders for unacceptable behavior, regardless of whether they
are Republicans or Democrats.
Some callers yesterday also gave
Griffith a free pass by saying if other “corrupt” government
officials can stay in their positions, Griffith should be able to as
well.
It is also time, as another caller
suggested, that we stop justifying and excusing one elected
official's bad behavior by pointing out examples of other officials'
bad behavior.
It is not our place to judge others,
but it is absolutely our right – indeed, it is our duty – to
fully scrutinize whether an elected official has the capacity, the
decency, the transparency, the honesty and the integrity to honorably
carry out the business of our towns/cities, counties, states and
nation.
Elected leaders – in their political
and personal lives – are held to a higher standard than private
citizens. If they are unwilling to accept this higher standard, they
must be willing to step down from the positions entrusted to them by
their constituents. And if they refuse to step down – as
Commissioner Griffith has – then they should be fully prepared to
deal with the political ramifications of that choice.
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