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| 7/30/2009 12:22:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | | What started it all | In what has been described as a heated exchange of viewpoints about the Chalmers project, an anonymous blogger posting comments under the name, Shadycat, is alleged to have posted a remark angering some South Side residents.
The controversy about the comments, allegedly made by Bethany Schumann-McGhee, has prompted a call by some for an apology and others for her resignation as the chairwoman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee.
Unfortunately, the thread in which the broader debate appeared is not available; however, this is the alleged remark by Shadycat that sparked the controversy:
"Why aren't you southsiders more angry at the complete eyesores that call themselves businesses on the south side???
"Plus, the biggest and most progressive businesspeople on the southside are in favor of the project, Alteri, Santos, Phemister. These are homeowners and landowners and businesses with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested and they support the project. Meanwhile, all you other chuckleheads who think Parillos is fine dining, know all your neighbor's business, never leave the stinkin' south side, and have looked at the stinkin' Chalmers building for DECADES without EVER demanding it be demolished, now are insisting it be demolished, and that the first out of town person in years who actually wanted to invest in our city should be denied, need to have your heads examined. Do you all share one tiny, southside brain??????????????"
- Linda Kellett
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City residents sound off about blogger's words
Linda Kellett
Recorder News Staff
Regardless of the individual's identity, comments attributed to an Amsterdam blogger going by the name of Shadycat were "insensitive, divisive, detrimental to the community, uncalled-for and certainly mean-spirited."
That's the view of Paul Parillo, a South Side businessman and Democratic mayor of Amsterdam from 1988-92, who noted in an e-mail to the Recorder that he was "outraged by the response of our local elected city officials and Montgomery County Democratic Committee officials regarding the identity of 'Shadycat'" - reportedly Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Bethany Schumann-McGhee.
The blogger's identity was revealed on the Web site of Robert Going, a candidate who's seeking the Republican Party nomination for the 3rd Ward council seat.
Schumann-McGhee has declined to comment on the allegations; and county committee officials last week said no action is being taken against her.
A member of the family whose business was mocked, Parillo wrote that he would have "reacted quite differently than our current mayor did when news broke that my party's chair made such outrageous comments."
Mayor Ann Thane last week called the attack on Schumann-McGhee a witch hunt and said the broader issue was the anonymity of the posters. She said the energy expended could be put to better use solving the city's real problems.
If the individual was Schumann-McGhee, Parillo said by not condemning the responses, the local Democratic Party condoned them.
"I'm convinced the poster was chair of the Democratic Party. Although I'm upset by those comments, I respect the right of anyone to say what they think ... I also expect people to sign their name so there can be a response."
"You have to be willing to take the consequences. How difficult would it be for anyone to campaign as a Democrat to know this baggage hung around the neck of the party?" he said.
He called for the chairwoman to step down.
South Side resident Marco Zumbolo noted it's unfortunate the poster made remarks that included all South Siders.
He said the person should get to know the history of the residents of that community and suggested they visit the war monument, learn about the history of Persico Square or visit Marcellino's, in order to take stock of South Side residents whose lives were lost in defense of their country.
One area Democrat, who asked not to be identified because a relative has a political post, said he thought the chairwoman should issue an apology.
Former Democratic Mayor John Duchessi Jr. said his misgivings "go toward the cause of the discord to begin with, where the issue really lies: That has to do with the Kaufman-Chalmers project."
In his view, the two-term mayor said the main issue is "support of the Chalmers project and what form it should take. It should not take that form."
To regain the support of South Siders who voted for the administration, he said more information and answers to questions such as those on local blogs could help restore trust; however, "once the fight gets to this level, it's really hard to put things back together."
Jeffrey Stark, a Democratic Party candidate seeking the 2nd Ward supervisor's post held by incumbent Barbara Johnson, said, "There's bigger problems in the city that I worry about in the county," he said.
That was a sentiment shared by 4th Ward Alderman William Wills, a Democrat, who said the issue was politically motivated. "I know it involves our chair, but it wasn't like [she] was interviewed by [the press] and said that statement," he said.
He continued, "Blogs are exactly what they're intended to be: Just to get your feelings and emotions out on the Internet with respect to a lot of issues."
Because he's not a committee member, Wills said he couldn't "do anything about it anyway ... It's up to the committee to ask her to resign or apologize or whatever."
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Contact Linda Kellett at linda.kellett@recordernews.com.
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