By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
Michael Rodriguez
I try to make my telephone conversations and meetings with public servants, elected officials, business professionals and trusted sources as enjoyable and comfortable an interview as possible. Understand that given the somewhat negative connotation associated with the media, news reporters often find it difficult getting certain folks to open up… especially if they have a lot to lose. So I engage in conversation for about five minutes before asking the pressing questions. You know, to loosen them up.
Some journalists seem to think they can get whatever they want through Public Information Act or Freedom of Information Act requests, but a skilled orator leaves such resources as a last resort. While incorporating such a simple approach has, for the most part, served us well at the News, we do run into a few problems every once in a while.
As I’ve stated here in the past, we try to give public servants the benefit of the doubt as to why they may not be immediately available upon our initial attempts to make contact with them. It’s only when repeated attempts to gain comment on certain matters are met with unwillingness do we attribute such responses (or lack thereof) to a blatant disregard for accountability.
Then there’s Linda from the City of Rio Hondo, who had no problem answering our calls and even speaking to us on Tuesday, April 16, yet refused to give us her last name. Bear in mind that when my reporter informed me of this rather odd occurrence, I thought maybe she misunderstood a question he asked or was perhaps joking. Considering as much, I decided to call Linda to straighten this out. As the city secretary and a public servant, there’s no reason why she would withhold her last name, unless of course she thought we were telemarketers and was pretending to be someone else.
Once I got Linda on the line, I informed her that we were working on a story about the Rio Hondo mayoral race and sought to clear up some confusion concerning Mayor Alonzo Garza and whether he had indeed withdrawn or if he missed the deadline to do so. You see, another local newspaper had reported that Garza was not actively seeking election, but citizens of Rio Hondo informed us that they’ve seen the mayor’s political signs in town, indicating an active campaign.
It wasn’t until Linda directed me to city attorney Eddie Lucio III that I asked for her last name, to which she responded, “I’d rather not tell you.”
Not understanding why she was so paranoid and even miffed by the most fundamental of questions, I decided to review what Linda had told my reporter during our initial contact with her. Sure enough, “I don’t have one” was her response when asked for her last name.
What puzzles me is why Linda, who has apparently joined the ranks of Madonna, Prince, Shakira, Beyoncé, Beck and McLovin, was so reluctant to divulge such information in the first place; after all, it’s right there on the City of Rio Hondo website: City Secretary Linda Chullino.
All I can do, I suppose, is chalk this up to media paranoia, which seems to be a growing trend that has served no purpose other than to undermine the plight of those who suffer from it. I have to believe this, because the alternative – public servants who practice the withholding of information to such a degree that even their last names are not divulged – is reprehensible.
Remember that the city secretary position in local government serves to document, maintain and preserve public record, not to stifle it.
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