Eastern Shore Undercover Editorial: Barren Creek Road, Protest Signs, and Why I Back Giordano

Election season is here, and with it comes some of the worst behavior we see all year. I have talked about this on our page many times. This morning gave us one more example, and I can't let it pass without saying something.

Today was supposed to be a good day for our county. The Barren Creek Road project is finally moving forward, and people came out to celebrate it.

There were people who live in this community, who work in this community, and there were people that travel through this community. They were all in attendance with sheer excitement because of this project moving forward, and this is something everyone should be celebrating.

Instead, a small group chose to use that moment, and the media who were there, to push false claims about a candidate.

I talked with a lot of people while I was there. Neighbors who live near Barren Creek Road and business owners in that area told me how glad they are to see this work get started. Nearly everyone I spoke with was thrilled.

So I want to say thank you to County Executive Julie Giordano and County Council Member James Winn for getting this done. This project matters to the people who live and work out there around Barren Creek Road.

Now, let's talk about signs. A group of individuals showed up holding signs that I know were blatantly false, lies and just not true, all aimed at tearing down our County Executive. Why do I know their lies? Because the same comments were posted on Eastern Shore Undercover, which my wife and I had to delete several times, from the same individual.

Now, here's the difference between Eastern Shore Undercover and the county executive.

County Executive Julie Giordano doesn't sit in an office all day at a computer and monitor comments on social media pages like we do.

Sure, she may make a couple posts here and there, but I can assure you she doesn't sit there and scroll through all comments at all given hours of the night and day, as required by Eastern Shore Undercover.

Our comments are moderated from 6 am until 11 pm, using Meta's AI system, Sprout Social, and two people constantly checking to make sure our comments get moderated throughout the day.

So naturally, when the comment was made on the county executive's social media page, she may not have been immediately aware of it. I mean, let's be honest. She kind of has a county to run, right?

I think that should come as common sense to most people, but apparently this group of individuals felt it was important to put blatant lies and attempt to persuade people to believe that the county executive made those comments, which, again, are blatantly false.

The county executive did not make those comments. Someone who was affected by the actions of Mr. John Psota and Mr. Ernest Davis is the individual who made those comments.

The comments that were made were repulsive and should have never been said, but again, they were not said by our county executive. They were said by someone else who commented on her page.

When a campaign has to lean on false signs, it tells me they don't believe they can win on their record or by their own character. That is not how you earn anyone's vote.

You don't have to like Julie Giordano. You don't have to vote for her. But there is no reason to spread untrue claims about her, and there is no reason to stand along the road holding a sign that does it, during such a great event for this community.

I find it disgusting. I have tried hard to keep this page positive over the past 6 weeks and to be the nice guy but I won't stay quiet about this anymore.

There's one more thing I saw while I was there. Jim Adkins, who is running for County Council, stepped up to a member of the media with a quiet voice and said, "Go ask her why she didn't do this 4-years ago". He said it quietly, but I was standing about three feet behind him, a little off to the side.

So I took his question straight to County Executive Julie Giordano. Her answer was simple and direct. She said, "Sorry, Earl, I wasn't in the office four years ago. That was John Psota, and Ernie Davis was on the council, so you'll have to get Mr. Adkins to ask them."

There is something else the community should know. Yesterday, several members of the Wicomico County Council harshly criticized the County Executive during their meeting. If you listen to the recording, you will even hear some of them say it isn't fair for their employees to be under stress at work.

That stood out to me. For a long time I have watched this council, often through other people speaking for them, put the County Executive and county employees under constant pressure.

From where I sit, a lot of that comes from personal grudges, not the needs of the county. So from my eyes, it's like the old saying, "Hello pot, meet the kettle".

Now here is what she did today. Just one day after being criticized and berated in public by the county council, she still invited Council President John Cannon to join her and help put the shovels in the dirt. That is what real leadership looks like.

Real leaders lead! They set personal issues aside and do what is best for the people they serve. Julie Giordano showed that today. That is why we endorse Julie Giordano for County Executive, and why I encourage everyone to get out and vote for her.