One of the first things many young reporters learn when they cover local government is how the people who represent us really do represent us. They have the same insecurities and quick tempers we do. They can be overly ambitious and insufficiently patient. And sometimes, like us, they say and do really dumb things.
So it was with Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield, who in a social media post Monday linked to an article that questioned whether the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were real. The article, which came from the website Awarenessact.com, declared: "It's official: European Scientific Journal Concludes 9/11 was A Controlled Demolition."
News flash: It's not official. It's a loony theory purported by "truthers" who believe the world didn't really see what it saw on 9-11. The conspiracists say that at the least, the truth has been covered up, and some believe the attacks were an inside job conducted and concealed by the U.S. government.
Mostly, the truthers linger in the dark corners of the internet. But as we saw Monday, not always.
In her Facebook link to the article, Mayfield wrote: "I am still waiting for someone to produce pieces of the alleged plane that opened the doors for US Citizens to loose all privacy rights (from the conspiracy theorist in me.)"
Yes, she said "alleged plane."
Sigh. It would be easy, we suppose, to shrug this off, to shake our heads and chuckle that Mayfield is doing a good job representing the tin foil constituency among us. But Mayfield, a Democrat who serves District 3, also represents something else: Our city. By Monday night, Mayfield's post was national news, carried by ABC and media outlets across the country. Comments streamed in from far flung places, including New York City. A petition on change.org demanded her resignation.
But Mayfield, like a lot of folks, also struggles with admitting she's done something wrong. She declined interviews with reporters Tuesday other than an initial conversation with WFAE in which she sort of backpedaled, but also said, somewhat incoherently: "I believe this nation chose to take a horrific act and use it to not only create a way through government to spy on the American people, but also to privatize a lot of the work that is happening on the ground."
She remained defiant on Facebook, amending her original post Tuesday to say: "So ... if I delete this all the comments will also be deleted. This was NOT shared to cause controversy yet it has. Freedom of speech allows you to share your thoughts and many have done that below."
That's not nearly enough. Mayfield owes an apology to the families, friends and colleagues of 9-11 victims. She should apologize, too, for embarrassing the city she is supposed to serve.
Yes, Mayfield can believe whatever she wants _ and she certainly is free as a U.S. citizen to spout whatever wacky theory she wants to indulge. But when she chose to run for public office, she took on a greater responsibility _ to the people and city she governs. She's a public official. She's our representative. She should act like it.
