In defense

Dear Mr. Behan
I am writing in response to your article titled “Apology Needed” in
reference to Mayor Witherspoon.
I am compelled to respond and defend Mayor Witherspoon’s years of public service, dedication and commitment as a civil servant for your community.
When the Mayor wrote that letter he never anticipated nor had any knowledge that the Allison brothers would in the future offer a AA developmental hockey camp.
The Mayor’s intention, like he stated, “was that so our kids would have an opportunity to travel less to go to a hockey school.” Obviously his original intention when he wrote the letter was to benefit kids in the community.
You explicitly state that the “Mayor Witherspoon has never acknowledged the gravity his poor judgment in writing.” In addition, you stated he “sounds cold or distant without the words sorry or apology.” Did you not get the same newspaper I received? In Reuben Villagracia’s article, he clearly quotes my father, “In retrospect, I made a mistake. It’s settled out of court and it’s behind us now.”
Clearly my father has acknowledged the error in his judgment and took responsibility for his action. I fail to see the coldness in his admission.
Mr. Behan it seems to me that you have lost sight and the ability to write an article with some measure of journalistic objectivity. The measure and tone of your subjectivity, not to mention your blatant attacks toward my father on this issue are apparent.
If my father was the arrogant man you have made him out to be, he would have never accepted responsibility for his error and settled this matter as quickly as he did.
The $5,000 deductible as Mr. Naturkach stated will come out of a reserve fund set up for this type of situation.
An arrogant man, Mr. Behan, would never accept responsibility for his actions and no doubt consume more than the reserve budget has allocated.
Mayor Witherspoon, my father and civil servant has dedicated and served your community with the utmost integrity for more than a decade.
My father has publicly acknowledged his error in judgment on this issue. Mr. Behan, it seems that you have chosen to forget or disregard all the advancement that has taken place in your community in the last decade, through the efforts and dedication of my father and his council, all of which are civil servants who dedicate and work hard for the betterment of their community.
Sincerely,
J.J. Witherspoon