During election campaigns we always have to be on our toes. Everyone will try to gain some sort of advantage and good press is always a good advantage.
We had a case last week, and hopefully I handled it right. Vic Bowman, one of our regular columnists, sent his Friday column in. It read pretty much like mayoral candidate Don Zurowski's platform. Much of the column was word-for-word what Zurowski has been saying.
Here's where a little knowledge can help a newspaper editor. I know that Bowman is working on Zurowski's campaign. It was an obvious attempt at some free campaigning for Zurowski. Even though Bowman didn't name Zurowski in his column, it was obvious where the comments were coming from. I noticed it right away and when reporter Arthur Williams read the column, he noticed it too.
Now we have a problem. As a columnist, I don't have a problem with Bowman supporting one candidate over another. That's what columns and opinion pieces are for. However, Bowman, I feel, stepped over the line and stopped writing as a Free Press columnist and started writing as a Zurowski campaign worker. The only two options I had were to pull the column or clarify, in the column, that Bowman is working on Zurowski's campaign. I chose the latter.
What do you think? Was it the right thing to do or should I have pulled the column?