To the editor:
It is a sad reality that smear tactics are used in small town elections, and that someone feels anonymity makes them faultless and provides the right to condemn others.
Since one or more anonymous individuals decided to inform the Gloucester Daily Times about Karen Smith Crawley's mistake, I would like to take this opportunity to tell people that Karen is a loyal friend and a dedicated resident of Manchester.
When I suffered a loss, Karen was there for me. She helped me to deal with a difficult time and made sure I was doing as well as possible during my grief.
Karen has volunteered time as a member of the Manchester Harbor Advisory Committee in different roles for years, the last as its chairwoman. Before her resignation, Manchester benefited from the committee's involvement in rewriting harbor regulations, performing a harbor safety audit and re-engaging engineers for a dredging process — based on a request by the Manchester Board of Selectmen, after Karen's resignation.
Karen organized an ad hoc committee of resigned Harbor Advisory Committee members and other Manchester residents to complete the mooring audit.
I am proud to say Karen is my friend and has my vote.
Carol McCourt
Manchester
