Apologies aren't enough: A Commentary

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.