Integrity DOES matter ...

Kudos go out to the Concord Monitor for allowing [this time] the publication of a letter detailing the accusations against Kathy Rogers arranging an unwarranted and fraudulent police investigation - something she admitted to:

Integrity matters

Two recent letters to the editor have mentioned me in relation to Doris Ballard's employment at CCTV. Here are the facts:

As CCTV executive director (1999-2002), I hired Ballard as a temporary part-time employee. Shortly thereafter she informed me she was running for city council. Only after Ballard's election and my resignation did she achieve a permanent full-time position.

During the Concord City Council Rules Committee's investigation into her CCTV employment, Ballard testified she had never been a temporary employee.

At the hearing's conclusion, then-Councilor Katherine Rogers, chair of the committee, invited submission of related documents. I submitted a copy of Ballard's temporary employment contract, a public document legally obtained from the city manager's office. I also submitted a document showing that CCTV staff under Ballard had created a program for Rogers and her dog.

Shortly thereafter, a Concord police detective knocked at my door, and I found myself in an interrogation room being questioned as to how I obtained Ballard's contract. Rogers acknowledged instigating the investigation, stating in an e-mail: "When neither the city manager nor CCTV could verify the Ballard employment contract's existence and neither had a copy, I asked that it be investigated."

Acting on my information, the detective easily located Ballard's contract in City Manager Tom Aspell's office. Why did Ballard, Rogers and Aspell cause a needless police investigation?

Now Ballard seeks Rogers's seat as county commissioner, and Rogers aims to be county attorney.

Integrity matters. I urge citizens to vote Liz Blanchard for commissioner and Ted Barnes for attorney.

RICK WATROUS

Concord