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NEW: Niagara Fall's mayor @jimdiodati pocket dialled this reporter's voicemail, and can be heard expressing his displeasure at being fact-checked about his #COVID19 claims, including saying restaurant staff will do something awful food I order as a result https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2020/12/10/they-will-spit-in-his-food-diodati-says-about-journalist-who-fact-checked-his-covid-19-claims.html
For context, Mr. Diodati is just the latest in a long string of politicians in Niagara whose unguarded comments (and sometimes very public) attacked @StCatStandard and its reporters.
In 2015, Diodati joined a group of politicians who signed a document organized by former St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra that made false claims about the paper, including that we manufactured the news and intimidated politicians. The memo was then sent to our owners.
As part of that memo, former regional CAO Carmen D'Angelo asked our owners to fire our editorial managers and replace them with a more politically compliant team
SPECIAL REPORT: D'Angelo wanted Standard editor replaced, email shows https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca//news/niagara-region/2018/05/03/special-report-d-angelo-wanted-standard-editor-replaced-email-shows.html
SPECIAL REPORT: D'Angelo wanted Standard editor replaced, email shows https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca//news/niagara-region/2018/05/03/special-report-d-angelo-wanted-standard-editor-replaced-email-shows.html
In the ensuing years, NF coun. Bob Gale suggested the region "do something" about me after we uncovered the D'Angelo CAO plot, ex Port Colborne coun (and now Brampton CAO) David Barrick peddled a conspiracy theory that the paper traded "positive coverage" for tips.
Councillors Quirk, Annunziata, Barrick, Vollapatti, Maves, Timms, Baty all attacked the paper for reporting the facts. Some, like Quirk and Gale were discovered when we obtained emails to residents in which they tried to discredit the paper.
In other cases, including with D'Angelo, we learned of efforts to discredit the paper by obtaining confidential documents or closed council session information.
In other words, there is a long history in Niagara of elected leaders saying one thing about the press in public (sometimes) and then something else entirely when they believe no one is watching or listening. This is just the latest example.
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