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Anne Mooney and Hypocrisy

Anne Mooney is confused. The usage of “transparent” relevant to Winter Park Voice is:

a transparent process, activity, or organization does not try to keep anything secret

Anne claims in a recent funding solicitation that “WPV is the only transparent news source covering Winter Park issues from City Hall in real time.” She later notes proudly in bold text that “WPV was set up as a for-profit corporation specifically to ensure the confidentiality of all contributors, and is therefore not a tax-deductible entity.”

Please understand. Winter Park Voice is Anne Mooney’s perspective under cloak of volunteer civic journalism. It is not “news” and it is not transparent. If she truly wished to be “transparent” in her “service” to Winter Park she would require full donor disclosure as well as verify and publish the identity of commentators.

As it is, Anne Mooney engages in abject hypocrisy, claiming to provide a volunteer journalistic service to the people of Winter Park while advocating for policies and causes Anne Mooney and her friends and contributors wish to draw attention to.

Those wishing to support a political voice pretending to provide a public service are welcome to do so. But, understand that Anne’s policy preferences and causes, what she chooses to write and how she presents what she writes about, is sourced in her own views and in part influenced by donors and therefore political interests. Anne declines to disclose donors to the detriment of the transparency she falsely claims to uphold.

All citizens interested in Winter Park issues should first read the City Commission Agenda Packets, staff reports, and other information on the city web site to become informed. Our taxes pay for professional staff to analyze and document relevant facts, and to make recommendations our elected commission members rely upon to make important judgments.

The city web site is a robust and deep source of information relevant to the issues we face and city staff is in my experience always ready to answer your questions. This is where you can become informed. You paid for it already and you know the information is sourced and compiled by people with a duty of integrity and objectivity in support of your elected city commission. Anne Mooney? Not so much.

Regards, Pete Weldon

Posted in Ethics, Policy.


6 Responses

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  1. Joseph Boy says

    As always you post links to your site that are usually negative in nature and use a positive story celebrating the contribution that Anne Mooney puts into the community to trash someone that I respect. Good form. Nice way to advertise your website and trash someone in the same post. You are such a role model of how our community should act. Spreading your negativity while making the world a meaner place.

  2. Pete Weldon says

    Joe, I am not trashing Anne Mooney. Just stating the facts relevant to her efforts. That she makes an effort is to be applauded. That she wraps it in self serving blather about transparency and the provision of news is nonsense on its face given the facts. She uses WPV to serve her own political ends and that is what should be transparent, but instead is denied or purposefully ignored. No harm intended.

  3. Joseph Boy says

    Self serving blather is not trashing someone? Yeah keep Spreading your negativity.

  4. Ellie Warner says

    I could be wrong, but I don’t think Pete’s perspective (above) is in response to a positive story. Look at the date – May 14. I’m confused since petty insults, intolerance of differing views, and a great deal pf emotional baggage (often times later deleted ) seem to rule the day at The WP Voice FB page. I don’t see that here from Pete. He states what he clearly points out is his opinion, often times backed with linked source material, and waits for citizens to point out where he is mistaken. I see it as serving our city, not self-serving. I can’t recall a time when his facts have been shown to be incorrect. People are free to respond with as much emotion as they like. There’s a lot of it swirling around.

  5. Joseph Boy says

    The link to this story was posted to the Winter Park Voice Facebook group by Mr. Weldon in response to a post of Anne receiving an honor in Winter Park. Kinda like the heckler yelling at a leader when he gets an award. Mr. Weldon is welcome to his opinion and lets face it, he is very good at ensuring that EVERYONE hears it. Each story that Anne writes on the voice gets a full review from Mr. Weldon like the opposing party after a State of the Union Address. And she posts his retorts each and every time without fail. But when Anne is getting honored for her work, (a positive story) there is no need to take that time to knock her down a peg. Getting Mr. Weldon’s approval is not important for her credibility. The fact that she is listed as one of the top 25 most influential persons in Winter Park is credential enough. I just really dislike it when someone take a positive thing and decides this is a good time to poop in their corn flakes. Maybe it is his way to say HEY HEY look at me? I don’t know, but in my opinion, it was in very bad taste.

  6. Ellie Warner says

    Selective outrage.



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