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Hell hath no fury like an outted blogger who chose anonymity. Mr. Crawford is shooting himself in the foot and now, it appears, aiming northward toward somewhat more (ahem) vital body parts.

Look past the anonymity to the comments. Fix the behavior. When will they ever learn?

Crawford and Becky Strickland to a much greater extent, have been an embarassment and negative influence on Summerfield since before they took office.

I have commented on the NWO blogs before about Strickland and the "Concerned Citizens for Summerfield" before, and the forum is overwhelmingly negative about the group, Strickland in particular.

I said back then that it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. With people like Strickland and Crawford, that is almost always the case. Strickland crossed the line when she took it on her own to try and destroy a grant the city was trying to obtain, and Crawford may find himself in quite a bit of trouble if he hacked the NWO cite. I don't know if this is the case, but it appears from the NWO editors that they may have enlisted law enforcement to determine if that is what happened.

Strickland simply protests to much and it begs the question of an alterior motive. If she believes that she is furthering her own political career, she is dead wrong. Otherwise, it appears that she is simply an egomaniac who enjoys concocting drama to get headlines. Either way, I don't expect she will be reelected and instead will rejoin Gail Dunham in the peanut gallery of unfounded complaints that has wasted time and money.

As for Crawford, he has been a rubber stamp for Strickland's witch hunts and ramblings. Luckily, her initiatives are almost always defeated on a 3-2 vote with the more sensible and responsible members of the Summerfield Town Council prevailing.

These people are angry for the sake of being angry, and they have demonstrated a high level of hypocrisy when it comes to dishing out criticism versus taking it along with other matters.

Good post JR. It's good to see that what is going on in NW Guilford County isn't being ignored.

John,

I'll say at the outset than being objective in this situation is a real challenge for me, and perhaps impossible. I am a Summerfield resident; as a Summerfield town councilman, Dwayne Crawford is one of my elected officials. I have both personal and professional interests in the recent incidents that have taken place regarding our online forum.

Anonymous forum posters, just like anonymous letter writers, can make us uneasy. As someone new to the newspaper business eleven years ago, my first reaction after receiving an anonymous letter in criticism of something I'd written was, "Who wrote this letter?" In the years since, I've received a few more anonymous letters than I would care to (zero would be great!). I've learned that it comes with the territory. And furthermore, I have a responsibility to listen to what is being said, regardless of whether I like it, or even whether I know who said it.Sometimes, deeply buried in a heap of accusations and sharp-tongued critism is at least a fragment of truth and value.

I uphold the rights of people to critize elected officials just as I uphold the rights of people to critize us in the media. I also uphold our critics' right to remain anonymous if they so choose; unless I had reason to believe they were threatening me with more than words, I cannot imagine going on a manhunt to find out who my critics are, and furthermore, to share their identities publicly as Mr. Crawford has done with our online forum participants. Elected officials, of all people, should know better.

I spelled "ulterior" incorrectly.

I'll have you know that Hotfoot71 is my given name!

I am the SuperModerator on the NWO forum. My responsibilities are to ensure all participants follow the published policies, take action with policy violations, and be an active participant myself. The two Editors of the NWO also act as moderators, plus many of the NWO staffers are active participants. All participants are treated equally, and for the most part, all have fun with it. The forum discussions are kept squeaky clean, the guideline being "safe for a 9 year old to read". Course, some 9 year olds are pretty opinionated too.

I've had several discussions with Mr Crawford about his distaste for anonymity, have given him numerous invitations to join, with assurance the moderators would not allow any personal attacks toward him from others. Mr Crawford just flat refused to join.

It became apparent that Mr Crawford just cannot tolerate criticism of any form. Thin skinned people don't belong in political office. A voter & taxpayers opinion is still a valid opinion whether or not they're anonymous. Sadly, Mr Crawford is more consumed with "who said it" than "what was said".

Strickland & Crawford got elected on a platform of fear......but now are finding out Summerfield constituents aren't afraid, they're outraged and furious, which will not bode well for either one.

Hi! I'm visiting from the NWO forum. Over there I'm known as Cracker. (BTW.. hi Sam! Long time no see!) I am one of their anonymous posters and for months I have been a primary target of Councilman Crawford's.

I have visited many forums, blogs and message boards where anonymity is not only allowed, but even encouraged. On the NWO forum, the participants gather to hang out and chat about issues pertaining to the Northwest area. Anonymity has never been an issue to anyone other than Crawford.

I don't speak Computer Geek, so I have no idea if he has broken any cyber laws or not, but I do know that my rights and the rights of other participants have been violated.

It is a sick feeling indeed to know that you are being stalked by a public official. He has overstepped the line and has most certainly done his best to intimidate us. As a result, he has infringed on our right to speak freely.

It is embarassing to me that the citizens of Summerfield have elected officials who behave as Crawford and Strickland do, and I will continue to speak out (anonymously if I choose) until the voters wake up and correct their mistake.

Hotfoot71
Your given name? That is not what Dwayne said.....

What a great topic, and well said, Mr. Editor.

I just came across this, pretty interesting read about what's going on at the Orange County Register.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17707922/

Duane Crawford is a corrupted official. He can't handle the truth, and he insists on the destruction of his enemies. Very Sad. I am taking a great risk by posting my concern.