An Open Letter to The Publisher of The Langley Times

**** UPDATE **** April 7, 2010 - Traffic to this article is going NUTS! Apparently people are seeking it out and where much of our traffic is direct, search engine traffic is now through the roof. People are taking an interest in this topic and the publisher would be wise to take this rebuke seriously. The primary search words are people grouping "langley record" with "langley times". It is very clear that news is traveling fast through Langley on this topic. Stay tuned!


TO: Mr. Dwayne Weidendorf

Publisher, Columnist
The Langley Times

Dear Mr. Weindorf,

Since early 2008 your newspaper has allowed slanted articles to be published for consumption by Langley residents. In fact, Township Mayor Rick Green boasted in public at the Douglas Day banquet in 2008 that he had your Editor, Frank Bucholtz in his "back pocket". The lack of investigation and fact-finding continues to be published week after week in your newspaper.

Article after article related specifically to the local political scene in both the City of Langley and the Township of Langley is being skewered on a regular basis. Minor facts are also being misreported. Here are a few quotes from The Times that are clearly false:

Full version with many inaccurate facts here.

– “Most of these developments are located near the 208 Street corridor. The Township has no plans at present to widen the street or help move traffic better, yet the street is now congested at many hours of the day, particularly in rush hours.” Frank Bucholtz

LR EDITOR: Clearly this has been addressed in budget discussions, with specific projects for 2011. There has also been an extensive transportation plan to address the 208^th Street corridor and funding is the big requirement.

Full version of another inaccurate rant here.

– “In fact, the Township does not even have current population projections for Willoughby. About a decade ago, when development in the area was starting, population projections called for about 50,000 residents when the area was fully developed. That was later boosted to 60,000.” … “Given the trends in housing today and the exorbitant cost of land, it would not be surprising to see Willoughby have an eventual population of 70,000 or more. It now has less than 20,000” Frank Bucholtz

LR EDITOR: Apparently The Times has never read any of the Official Community Plans (OCP’s) to see that the Willoughby OCP projects 65,000 residents.

– “It used to be that homes in the Fraser Valley, starting in Surrey and moving east, were priced a fair bit lower than those in Vancouver, but that has changed in recent years. The price differential isn't as glaring as it used to be.”… “Given the very expensive housing prices here, what have local or provincial governments done to ease this affordability crisis?” … “Local governments aren't any better. They consistently raise the development cost charges on urban developments, which are paid by buyers not by developers, as some municipal politicians seem to think. The developers pass the cost on to the buyers. DCCs are a key factor in the high cost of a serviced building site.” Frank Bucholtz

LR EDITOR: Lots to say about these and other quotes in that same article, but it looks like the Editor was refuted with a reply from a ToL Council member that we are sure you are aware of.

The height of this lack of publisher control occurred today when The Langley Times had to apologize to Langley Baseball for this photo and headline which was VERY inaccurate. While The Times is trying to explain this away by talking about a box around the photo, everyone we checked with associated your headline to this photo. This was very irresponsible journalism, and damning to your Editorial team. We do hope that this poor coach in the photo is considering his legal options.

We feel very badly for this coach and the young child pictured. Here is a guy that volunteers in our community and gives of his time and talents freely. He's probably received very little recognition for all this hard work, and his first front page picture in the local newspaper is a horrendous print error that slipped by your watchdog. Imagine the horror and humiliation he was forced to endure Mr. Publisher.

There is instance after instance that we could document which proves your publishing standards have diminished greatly over the past few years. It is now time as Publisher that you take the reins of this wild horse and pull it in. While bloggers are being portrayed as being irresponsible for not performing fact-checking, The Langley Times continues to publish inaccurate and misleading articles. The Langley Times now requires your leadership. If not, there needs to be two resignations, with swift and direct control from the upper management at Black Press.

Bombshell Dropped

Our editorial war room was inundated with calls this morning to ask what the bombshell was. As reported yesterday in our "Cat Out of The Bag" article, Mayor Rick Green announced his candidacy for re-election as Mayor of the Township of Langley. That was the bombshell we spoke of and was awaiting confirmation of. You can read all about it here in the Langley Times. An immediate reaction came from The Times Editor (and old pal of Green from Delta days) which can be accessed here.

It's clear from the press coverage and comments that Green has no regard for the Community Charter and doesn't see the need for the mayor to represent the "will of council" in other meetings. While individual councillors can speak their minds, the mayors have always represented the majority "will of council" as a uniting force. This is also required under the mayor's Oath of Office that is vastly different from the Oath of Office that members of Council take.

Green makes these statements regarding "speaking out", "fighting" this or that, etc. as mere politicking. Mayor Green has for many months accused Council of continuing to fight the last election. He took the same shot at them basically in his announcement.

If the electorate reviewed this fan fare by Green and Bucholtz for an election that is about 20 months away, one must conclude that Green is the one that has not stopped fighting the last election and in fact will now use his office as mayor to further his political future. Just like that Mayoral Chain of Office. Rest assured that each and every decision by Mayor Green moving forward will now be measured against re-election, garnering more supporters that will convert to voters, and playing to the whims of his vocal Milner Green supporters.

The Times (with Bucholtz at the helm of content), would like to see nothing better than to see a 1999 style election. It makes for lots of he said, she saids, sensational headlines and the potential for greater ad dollars as readership spikes upwards. Judging by the slim amount of pages and the end of a Sunday edition of The Times, the paper needs all the help they can get.

Mayor Green may get his wish at a chance to try new things and such. Moral with key Township staff is at an all-time low and we are certain that if Green was re-elected, retirements and resignations would follow. This would be a catastrophic brain drain for the Township and one that could set us back 10-20 years. Reserves would be plundered. Illegally plundered we assume, as Green's recommendations fly in the face of legal requirements. Infrastructure would certainly crumble and take years to rebuild. At that point Green could ride into the sunset on his horsey and that would be that.

What is more chocking is the reaction of The Langley Advance in all of this. While the Advance presents more balanced stories and Editorial Opinions, they are certainly not holding this current mayor's feet to the fire as that editor did to Former Mayor Kurt Alberts. Perhaps it's because Green appears more intimidating to them and his bully style has made them impotent? Maybe some massive doses of reporter and editor Viagra is required to help them out?

The Cat is Now Out of The Bag...

Well, the cat is now out of the bag and Langley Township has been duly warned that Mayor Rick Green will seek re-election. Green felt it necessary to announce his intentions (a campaign that never ended) to The Langley Times here of course.

It was clear from his first day that Green intended to politic and now the cat is out in the open. Unlike other members of Council that got in with their jobs once the election was over, Green used every Mayor's Report and opportunity to fight a campaign of sorts. The 0-0-0 promises never became a reality because they never really could. But hey, people believed that this politician was unlike all the others that promised tax cuts and never delivered. Just like the Mayoral Chain of Office, we will now see what Mayor Green does with our money to benefit his re-election campaign over the next two years.

Bombshell About to Hit Township

Today our Editorial Board received word of a statement made loud and clear by a local politico. Stay tuned, more info to come. Take the new poll as this upcoming statement may be impacted by your vote in this poll.