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Its unfair of the Press to referance the ‘acrimony’ that may have arisen during the 2011 Board election without putting the issue in the proper context. First, Ms. Khury’s desire to serve as Vice Chair was opposed by local politicians. Multiple current and former Board members can attest to this. Second, it was clear that their ‘yes’ men and women on the Board were committed to put forth any candidate other than Ms. Khury for that position.

For the uninformed, Ms Khury was accused by her detractors of violating heretofore unwritten rule when she concurred with the nomination by another Baord Member that she serve as Vice Chair. That nomination was made by a fellow Board member who was did not serve on the committee.

Ms. Khury’s actions while serving on the nominating committee were vetted with the Conflicts of Interests Board and the Borough President’s office. Both affirmed that she could and should fulfill the duties the Board elected her to perform as a member of the Nominating Committee: recommend suitable candidates for the consideration of the full Board. Her vote was a non-binding recommendation but it was enough for the attack dogs to pounce upon.

Both the COB and BP agreed that restricting Ms. Khury from agreeing that she was worthy to serve in that role ran counter to the democratic process and was without precedent. Certainly, no one disputed her right to vote however she chose in the full Board election and it was well documented that in its roughly forty years of existence Nominating Committee members regularly put themselves forward for candidates. Only when an unfamiliar face emerged as a favorite to hold a key position on the Board did a small number of individuals feign indignation and went so far as to impugn the character of a good woman who had excelled in work on the Board for close to a decade. Why?

Shame on them and shame on the Press for not getting the facts in order as its clear Ms Khury is facing the same double standard and slander this time around. She should be judged by her record of caheivement and nothing else.