The staff here at the Reporter has the reputation of being a pretty rough-and-tumble bunch, guys and gals who take things as they come. If you read the paper at all, you know that the people who put it together are no strangers to long nights, strong cocktails and raised voices.
Still, the 15 people whose names appear in the masthead on this page do not -- among them -- have five criminal arrests over the past decade, as does Niagara County Youth Bureau Director Theresa Holland.
On April 23, the Reporter broke the story that Holland had been arrested in 1991 and 1992 during drug raids carried out by the Niagara Falls Police Department. Subsequently, another 1992 arrest, this time for shoplifting, was revealed. Following the revelations, Holland was charged with a pair of criminal counts relating to the fact she lied about her criminal past on paperwork submitted in obtaining the county job.
In her defense, Holland said she'd forgotten about having been convicted on the shoplifting offense. We can think of many things easily forgotten about, but going before a judge, being convicted and sentenced isn't one of them.
Her supporters argue that Holland "turned her life around," attending college and becoming involved in politics, working on Legislator Renae Kimble's re-election campaign. They say her troubled past gives her a special insight into the psychology of the wayward youths she is allegedly helping.
We say the deceit that led to criminal charges this year belies that argument.
Unfortunately, Holland's defenders can point quite rightly to the criminal pasts of several county Legislators, who have been inexplicably re-elected despite their proven disregard for the law.
Over the past two weeks, the Legislature has moved the Youth Bureau to the county Social Services Department, failed to fire Holland by tabling a resolution to do so, and given her a vote of no-confidence.
The soap opera has played itself out in the headlines of the area's daily newspapers, giving the people of Niagara County yet another reason to disrespect the Legislature and continue to believe that political "juice" counts for a lot more around here than does honesty or qualifications.
It's time for Holland to go, and she isn't going to resign.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | November 12 2002 |