JAY SCHORR FOR MAYOR OF HALLANDALE BEACH

Keith London whines about his negative media coverage; cries to watchdog agency

By Margaret Kessler
examiner.com

What is it about politics that brings out the worst in people? Take Hallandale Commissioner and mayoral candidate Keith London (please!).

Apparently, London is none-too-pleased that his opponent’s wife, yours truly, has the unmitigated gall to write objective, fact–based articles about him. It seems that London, his girlfriend/publicist, or one of his devotees let our friends at BrowardBulldog.org know just how displeased Mr. London is with the coverage he’s been receiving from me. Why? Because I’m the wife of his opponent, Jay Schorr, write-in candidate for mayor of Hallandale Beach. After all, everybody knows that a wife can’t be objective about her husband. Hypercritical yes, but never objective.

So when my husband received a call this weekend from Bulldog reporter Bill Gjebre asking him if he thought it was a conflict for his wife to write articles about London, Schorr replied, “As long as the articles are factual and objective, there is no problem unless someone's looking to create one.” (Wink-wink, Keith.) My husband continued, “Last time I read the AP Stylebook, there was no prohibition against nepotistic journalism as long as it's honest and straightforward.”

Sure, my articles about London have been none-too-flattering, but the stories do reflect a factual reality about the ponytailed wonder boy who has all the female hearts aflutter.

When I reported that London had misinformed Diana Drive residents that they had no recourse to repeal the ordinance approving the development deal for the Beachwalk project, it was because he did in fact misinform them, as I learned from eyewitness accounts. London never advised those residents – either out of ignorance or just plain neglect - that a referendum petition could solve their problem.

When I reported that Keith went ‘berserk’ during a phone call with my husband, ranting and raving non-stop for two minutes about how we were “slamming him all over the place,” Mr. London did in fact lose his cool in a most unstatesman-like manner. For that instant, London took on the cantankerous demeanor of his archrival Mayor Joy Cooper, who’s well known for her emotional meltdowns.

And of course, there was the time I reported on London’s calculated move not to report what he thought was criminal wrongdoing by Cooper involving Community Redevelopment Agency expenditures because he feared the allegations would look like they were politically motivated. So instead of following through on his convictions, London asked me if I knew anyone who could file the complaint with the State Attorney’s Office.

The London List goes on and on, much like London. Perhaps if he would answer email inquires from this reporter, which he said he would not do for fear his words could be used against him, we could get his side of the story … any story … with which he takes umbrage (and there are many).

Okay, Keith, here it is: Put up or shut-up. Email me whatever comments you want to make and, provided they’re not obscene or otherwise inappropriate, I will print them in toto. It doesn’t get any fairer or more objective than that.

Like many professional women, I use my maiden name during the course of doing business. It’s an established, accepted practice in the work world that affords women a sense of professional self, apart from their spouses whose surnames they may carry legally. Perhaps London objects to women using their maiden names professionally. Maybe the object of lust of so many of Hallandale Beach’s female voters is a passive-aggressive misogynist.

London has known all along that I am Jay Schorr’s wife. He didn’t seem to mind that fact when I wrote a positive piece about him back in March after he announced his candidacy for mayor. He even sent me a thank you note. Suddenly, now that London’s being called to account for his own actions or lack thereof as a city commissioner, he’s crying foul. Grow up, Keith. Whining is not going to win you the election.

As for the Broward Bulldog, I hope that their reporting is as factual, well-researched, and objective as my stories have been about London. I’ve read Gjebre’s reports regarding the Broward Inspector General's Office investigation of the Hallandale Beach City Commission and city staffers. Bill seems to be an excellent investigative journalist with a fair and balanced approach. He does, however, seem to structure his stories in a way that paint London as the lone White Hat-wearing good guy in Hallandale Beach government. When asked about this by my husband, Gjebre responded, “We have no agenda.”

Let’s hope not. There are already too many agendas in Hallandale Beach. Now how about an agenda of civility?