Story was character assassination

The Herald and its reporter Scott North unfairly smeared Craig Dieffenbach in the Sunday’s Sept. 30 front page story on downtown Everett development. (“Everett cools to downtown developer’s scheme”).

I make no brief for Mr. Dieffenbach, either personally or professionally. He appears motivated to develop key real estate in downtown Everett and I wish him well.

If The Herald has a problem with Mr. Dieffenbach’s methods of operation or his downtown projects they ought to criticize him based on the merits of the relevant transactions. His criminal past should not be used, as it was in the Sunday piece, for purposes of character assassination.

And, while we’re on the subject of real estate development, two more observations: 1) professional developers and realtors use written option agreements to confirm intended terms and conditions of future real estate deals, and 2) if an $825,000 negotiated purchase of a key downtown parcel (or legal condemnation of the same property) could have been a “deal breaker” for the $50 million city events center, someone is blowing smoke, and it’s not Mr. Dieffenbach.

Everett

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