A recent letter to the editor supporting Jillian Duclos’ mayoral campaign accuses Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra of “pushing through unpopular programs at the behest of unaccountable private interests.” Meaning what, exactly? Which interests? (And is the Main Street redesign in fact unpopular? If any survey data exists, I can’t find it). If you have specific, credible evidence of malfeasance by the mayor or anyone else, please bring it. If not, these insinuations amount to the kind of Trumpy rumor-mongering that serves only to increase the cynicism and political disengagement of the citizenry, and (not coincidentally) to provide cover for genuine, rampant corruption at the federal level.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about Picture Main Street, but conspiracy theories and smear campaigns don’t belong in any newspaper that purports to uphold the principles of journalism.
Luke Jaeger
Northampton