To the editor:
The media is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government in America. They serve as an unofficial check and balance to keep our government and our politicians honest. It’s not a perfect system but it’s necessary.
Darren Cyr keeps showing us why we need local newspapers and why supporting local newspapers is so important so that they have the necessary resources to perform their role. There will always be national media to keep a close watch on corrupt politicians like Donald Trump or Matt Gaetz … but we need The Item to keep an eye on Darren Cyr.
On May 25, 2021, The Item published a story with the headline “Lynn mayoral candidate avoids campaign mishap.” This was not an honest headline. It actually feeds into the “lying media” rhetoric that we have come so accustomed to hearing in recent years.
Darren Cyr didn’t “avoid” anything. He committed a campaign finance violation and he was ordered to rectify the situation by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF). He was mailed a letter dated June 17, 2021 with specific instructions on how to rectify it. He ignored it. OCPF mailed him a second letter dated July 20, 2021 and again demanded that he correct his violation. He was given a deadline of Aug. 3, 2021. That was almost three weeks ago and at the time of this writing there is no indication that the violations have been rectified. In fact, the deposit report that his campaign submitted on July 31, 2021 contained even more of the same violations. The Item never followed up to ensure that Cyr rectified the situation. It wasn’t hard to find. It’s all public record and posted online.
I don’t believe Cyr has resolved the issues. (Item, “Cyr says campaign-finance violations resolved,” Aug. 27). The website still shows at least nine donations (mostly for $1,000) that have missing information. I spoke with other candidates who are more familiar with how this works and they indicated that the website is always kept up to date and has the most recent information. His deadline to address these issues was on Aug. 3; that was almost a month ago.
He mentioned he has received more than 30 of these letters. They are all available on the website. Thirty seems to be a very high number. Most candidates only have four or five at most.
Darren Cyr is not a man who can be trusted. This “mishap” is proof of that.
If you are reading this and you don’t pay for The Item, please consider paying for it. Without a local newspaper, even more corrupt politicians would come along. We have to ensure that we never let thugs and thieves take over our city.
If you work for The Item, please make it a priority to stay on top of the actions of all local politicians and follow up to ensure that politicians do the things they are required to do by law. Your job is to keep our government officials honest. The people of Lynn need you to do this. Please don’t let us down.
Adam Wheeler
Lynn