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All white dudes with beards, of course.
Dale Meecham, the current mayor, smiled brightly in his photo, his bushy gray mustache and matching comb-over making him look like a friendly grandpa.
“He’s ready for you,” the mayor’s secretary, Sylvia, said.
I’d asked to meet with him and Chief Grady at the same time, and Grady was stuffed into a black chair across from the mayor when Sylvia opened the door and led me into the office.
Both men stood, Grady dislodging himself from between the armrests and scowling as he set the chair back on the floor.
“Avon, it’s sure nice to meet you,” the mayor said. “I’m Dale, and you already know Grady.”
I shook his hand and nodded at Grady. “Yes, we’ve met. Thanks for letting me meet with both of you at the same time.”
Dale waved a hand. “Anytime. We’re pretty easy to get along with around here.”
I smiled. “I try to be, too.”
Grady coughed like that was humorous. I turned to him with a sharp look.
“What?” he said. “I had to cough.”
I let my skeptical gaze linger on him another second before continuing. “As I was saying, I want to continue the strong working relationship Pete had with you guys. The stories that come out of City Hall and the police department are the backbones of a solid local newspaper.”
Dale pointed at me and grinned. “See, I knew it. Didn’t I tell you, Grady? I knew this one was more than just a pretty face. I’m so glad we got to meet and we look forward to working with you.” He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and passed it to me. “And I’ll just give you this week’s roundup now so you don’t have to get it from Sylvia.”
Grady reached into a black leather notebook holder and pulled out a few papers, holding them out for me to take. “I can email this to you if you’d prefer.”
“Oh, same for me,” Dale said. “I know you young people are way more into technology than I ever will be.”
I gave them both the smile that had closed more than a few pharmaceutical sales deals.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the work you’ve put into those summaries every week for the Chronicle. But moving forward, I’ll be taking a more active role in news gathering.”
The mayor lowered his brows. “What do you mean?”
I reminded myself that this was how journalism was supposed to be done. My job, temporarily at least, was to question the establishment and not let elected officials tell me what was and wasn’t news. But the mayor and Grady were staring at me like I’d just told them about the spaceship I’d ridden here on.
“It’s going to be less work for you guys,” I said brightly. “I’ll be attending city council meetings, taking my own notes, and writing my own stories. And Grady, I want to work out a system where I can look over the types of calls the police have gotten over the week and ask you about them.”
He balked. “No one is allowed to look at our internal stuff but our staff. We have ongoing investigations and we can’t discuss them.”
“I know, but”
Dale interrupted. “We need to stick with the system Pete had in place. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?”
Grady nodded. “My roundup includes a record of every arrest made. I’ll continue providing it to you.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Avon. Let us keep doing our part so you can focus on other things. Aren’t you the only advertising person? You have to pay the bills, so put your energy into that.”
He didn’t want me to worry my pretty little head. Neither of them did. But I wasn’t backing down. Yes, I was a twentysomething woman who preferred beaches and Starbucks to the ice and snow of the Beard, but I was determined to run the Chronicle in a way I was proud of until the day I sold it.
“Thank you for making your positions clear,” I said, standing up. “I’m going to do some research on Minnesota’s freedom of information laws and get back to you, Chief Grady. And Mayor Meecham, I already know that city council meetings are required to be open and you can’t keep the public from attending. So I’ll be at the next one.”
The mayor waved his hand in a downward motion, his way of telling me to sit back down.
“No, no, no. We’re not here to make trouble for you, Avon. Pete devoted his life to keeping a newspaper in this town when they’re dying everywhere else.”
His desk looked like it was solid cherry. It was a far cry from the broken-down particle board ones in the newsroom.
“Great,” I said, smiling. “So I’ll see you at the meeting Tuesday night, and I’d love to be able to approach you afterward with questions.”
