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| (Staten Island) Staten Island, NY: City Hall News' reporter, Edward- Isaac Dovere, seems intent on carrying out a one man crusade to implicate Staten Island City Council Candidate Debi Rose in some far reaching conspiracy when in fact no laws have been violated. So the problem becomes that in his zeal to create a story, Mr. Dovere is instead maligning the candidate in the midst of a very close run for the City Council - to the ultimate benefit of her opponent. It is the campaign's understanding that questions raised by Mr. Dovere regarding any engagement between the Rose campaign and outside vendors have been asked and answered. Moreover, Mr. Dovere recently wrote an extensive article on the matter in which conversations were misrepresented to strengthen [his] contentions that campaign finance laws might have been skirted, but not broken. This raises the questions of what Mr. Dovere is really after, and to what end? In his continuing quest to create a story, Mr. Devore ran a follow up article regarding a former independent contractor of the Rose campaign; inaccurately representing her as a former Deputy Campaign Manager. Attorney Stephen Harrison sent a statement to Mr. Dovere prior to the story running which stated, "With regard to your questions concerning Caroline Cole, she was an independent contractor, not an employee. The campaign paid Ms. Cole for all work performed and disputes any claims for payment in excess of those already made. All disputed claims were appropriately reported to the CFB as required." Yet, this person's disputed claims are now presented by City Hall News as if they are newsworthy revelations. "Simply, we see this effort for what it is," Rose states, "a transparent attempt to dig up wrong doings where there are none and an incredibly misguided effort by City Hall News that needs to be brought to a stop immediately. I have served my community for 30 years with honor and a heartfelt desire to see things improved for the North Shore. As such, I refuse to sit by further while my name and efforts are defamed by some zealous reporter attempting to manufacture stories at my expense during a close election." |
