SB Now

I doubt the validity of the post signed by David McCammack. First of all mispelling his wife's name and then blasting her as a hypocrite, which she is not, David McCammack would have NEVER done. I know the couple personally and it is a sham for someone to have made a mockery of this upstanding blog with such a very well-planned but extremely mean joke.

Just to clarify for readers, a commenter earlier today posted something criticizing Councilwoman McCammack for praising Miller before and calling for the closure of Phoenix Centers now.

I deleted the comment, not for it's content, but because it was falsely signed by "David McCammack," who is the councilwoman's husband.

For the record, McCammack did heap public praise on Miller last year. I heard it myself at a council meeting. She also donated money to the program.

But at the same time, many people, including The Sun newspaper and this reporter, wrote and said very laudatory things about the work Miller appeared to be doing with area youths.

We also can't forget that Mr. Miller has been accused of a crime, not convicted. His guilt or innocence is still to be determined.

To my readers: We can be aggressive, but let's keep it (relatively) clean.

Thank you,

Robert Rogers

A lot of us who know Mike have been stunned by this accusation (and it is still an accusation until the trial is over and a verdict has been given of either guilty or innocent).

Adding to this sad incident is the malicious comments that someone made, in a false name, against Councilwoman McCammack for stating what we all knew – Mike Miller was doing a great job working with at-risk children. For someone to call her a hypocrite because she lauded Mike Miller and donated to a program that is designed to help at-risk kids is awful but not surprising.

Should the Mayor who “paraded” Mike Miller out at the State of the City address in March 2007 be called a hypocrite? What about Glen Baude and Kevin Hawkins? Are they hypocrites for keeping him in his position as the Youth Director at Operation Phoenix and in the Parks and Recreation department where he had contact with children? The answer is no. There was no known reason to restrict our praise or his contact with children. The “political” machinations in this city are disgusting.

This mean spirited “joke” was, most likely, due to Councilwoman McCammack’s very public call to close the Phoenix Center’s in order to make certain that these already at-risk children are not at any further risk. This call to action is what you would expect from a councilperson that has publicly shown her interest and concern for kids and after-school programs.

This should be about protecting the children – not maligning a well-meaning councilwoman.