A recent Letter by Louis Horvath (“One-sided story,” Oak Hill Herndon Connection, October 24-30) falsely accused your community reporter of writing an unbalanced news story. As someone who has read the documents of the case of two Herndon town council members and another candidate in the upcoming local election, I can confirm your news story was balanced and true to the facts of the case.
Mr. Horvath implied that a suit brought against present council member Grace Wolf Cunningham was without merit and that Ms. Cunningham's defenders lack of comments were somehow your paper’s fault. Although Ms. Cunningham tried to deny authorship of written formal complaints to the Virginia Elections Board, a Freedom of Information inquiry confirms Ms. Cunningham's complaints to that board. The fact is that the state election board found Ms.Cunningham's accusations without merit.
My point is that Grace Wolf Cunningham's criticism of her fellow council members and candidates began this dismal chapter in the Herndon political scene. I know first hand that those unfounded complaints by Ms. Cunningham initiated her being named in a civil suit.
The three long serving candidates named by Ms. Cunningham authorised me to contact Ms.Cunningham with an offer to drop the civil suit seeking damages if she would simp!y offer a public apology for her actions.
Directed by Ms. Cunningham to discuss this with her attorney, I never got a returned phone call from the attorney much to my disappointment.
My interest was to regain focus on the more important issue of downtown development.
Also I know first hand that several other members of town council,siding with Ms. Cunningham, knew that this person had initiated by her unfounded complaints and took no appropriate steps. Herndon deserves better than this attack on our candidates.
Les Zidel
Former planning commissioner for the Town of Herndon