Honesty DOES Matter

Dear Editor,

Voters are told that two of the most important values or principles for the Collier County Board of Commissioners are “honesty” and “integrity.” Yet, in Mr. LoCastro, we have a candidate who seems to be lacking both.

His campaign claims have been “modified” over time. The first one was that he was a “military hospital administrator”—as a retired Medical Service Corps officer, I knew that to be false. When I inquired, he quibbled and became confrontative. That claim has disappeared.

The second one was that he was a “combat veteran”—to which a sharp-eyed Marine took exception to—and within 24 hours, that claim was modified. In other words, HE IS NOT A COMBAT VETERAN.

A third one would seem to be a claim he was a “Senior NATO Commander”—which was changed/modified without any prompting.

The bottom line: this issue isn’t some “dredge up” from his past 10 or 20 years ago, or somehow having been misquoted by the media. These are claims Mr. LoCastro has made during this campaign, by his own hand and keyboard—claims which now would seem to be clear misrepresentations.

It would be nice if the Republican Party, or media, would do a little vetting.

I know as a voter in District 1, the thought of a candidate being a “truth distorter” before even getting to public office, is simply repugnant. I thank him for his service and hope that he continues with his community volunteerism.