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Commissioner Parsons accuses local paper of misrepresenting county actions, defends hiring of outside counsel
Summary
Vice-Chairman Joshua G. Parsons told the Board that recent LNP reporting misrepresented prior votes on the prison project and described mentions of outside counsel as a political smear, noting past votes on hiring Zimolong LLC were unanimous and recorded in the public record.
Vice-Chairman Joshua G. Parsons used a Feb. 4 commissioners' meeting to challenge recent reporting in LNP about the county's prison project and past legal hiring decisions. Parsons said the paper's coverage mischaracterized votes and included unnecessary references to an attorney who worked for the county in prior litigation matters.
Parsons said the LNP story had suggested that he and Commissioner Ray D’Agostino approved add alternates on the prison project; he called that claim "false," noting "all votes related to the prison project have been unanimous." He added that mentioning attorney Wally Zimolong by name in recent coverage was an unnecessary detail that contributed to what he called a political smear: "In his view, this was an effort to create the perception that the project was somehow politically motivated." (Parsons’ remarks appear in the meeting record.)
Parsons referenced another recent article, titled in the record as "Smucker Files Lawsuit Against LNP," and said the story included what he described as accusations and irrelevant personnel details about past county litigation. He said the vote to hire Zimolong LLC as outside counsel on litigation matters was taken previously, that the record shows a unanimous vote that included the then-board composition, and that the Elections Board has consistently guided election matters by following the law.
Commissioner Ray D’Agostino echoed concerns about the paper's coverage, saying the practice of singling out the attorney by name was unnecessary: "I am not sure why it was important to note Attorney Zimolong, when they could have simply said that he worked for the County." The meeting record does not show a response from LNP or the named attorney at the session. No formal action was taken by the Board at this meeting in response to the reporting.
