Is Gender an Unspoken Issue in County Race?

RECEIVED Sun., Jan. 19, 2014

Dear Editor,
    I am a big supporter of most of The Austin Chronicle's journalism and typically find it to be fair, informative, and enlightening. I would apply this opinion to much of Michael King's article [“Brown and Eckhardt Face Off in Circle C,” Newsdesk, Jan. 14], but something he wrote at the end of the article made me wonder. Having written pretty fairly of Sarah Eckhardt's strong achievements over the 15 years of her career working at the county and then contrasting that with what Andy Brown brings to the table – “bringing people together” was the refrain to an otherwise bland career, pounding home the idea that he didn't bring much else to the table – King closed his article by saying the two candidates were “not very far apart.” Was this a cryptic joke? They are 15 years apart in experience, at least! Does gender have something to do with this, Mr. King? Time you wiped off your old beliefs about women.
Michele Hallahan
   [Michael King responds: Michele Hallahan's carefully truncated quote reads in full: "Although their partisans might feel otherwise, on county issues they are not very far apart." Q.E.D.]
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