Dear, Editor:
Freedom of the press gives newspapers the righ to disseminate news, opinions, etc. without being controlled by the government. However, it doesn’t give them the right to print lies as we recently learned from the case of Dominion vs. Fox News.
I want to take issue with the editorial by the Rio Grande SUN of Thursday, April 20, 2023 regarding the North Central Solid Waste Authority where you state that it was a well-known fact that I, Alex Naranjo, wanted to fire the recently resignated manager. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only issue I had with the manager was that we had three meetings pertaining to the trash problems we were experiencing (and continue to experience) is that she failed to attend those meetings, which my sources tell me were at the direction of the former county manager.
It is true that I vowed to request a forensic audit of the authority. As we all know, the authority is strapped for cash and since a grand jury investigation of the authority has been granted and will be conducted in the very near future, I felt that a forensic audit at this time was not necessary since the grand jury should be able to uncover any and all deficiencies.
I have always operated under an “open door” policy and can be reached 24/7. My home number is published and I offered my cell number during the campaign. Your reporters have called me and I have always answered their questions, and your reporter could have called me to verify the allegations. Therefore, you can understand my frustration when I read editorials listing things about me that are not true.
The week before you had a front-page writeup that you were committed to “help bind the community together” but it looks to me that your agenda is to divide our communities and local governments as was the practice of the previous owners of the Rio Grande SUN.
Alex M. Naranjo,
Rio Arriba County Commission Chairman
North Central Solid Waste Authority Chairman