Future Candidates, Please Help Yourselves

I read the op-ed by Emijah Smith at the South Seattle Emerald about her not getting the D7 appointment. She doesn’t directly say that the Board itself was being unfair but that the timing of the stories about her legal issues in relation to the vote seemed unfair. I know that those outlets had this information; why they waited until the day before the vote  to file them is a mystery.

She had particular ire for KUOW, saying the reporter lied.

She was also unhappy with the use of the word “demons’ in the KUOW headline. KUOW did change that in the headline when they understood the sensitivity of the use of that word for African-Americans.

I write about this not to rehash anything but to hopefully send a signal to future candidates. If there is anything in your past that could affect your candidacy, YOU be the one to tell the Board AND the public YOUR story and the sooner the better.

Because if anything that happened in your life is something to consider in the realm of judgment and temperament, the Board and the public may want to consider that.

Don’t hope it won’t surface; it will. It is very hard, in this day and age to hide legal records, especially these that are 10 years old or less.

People make mistakes; we are all human. However it is important to admit mistakes — especially when they involve the legal system.