The Fernandina Beach News-Leader is part of the privately owned Community Newspapers Incorporated chain of weeklies and it can print whatever it sees fit. But there is little virtue in having editorial and news pages that the paper’s masthead says are “…dedicated to the truth, integrity, quality and hard work” and whose aim is to expand the horizons of its readers if those pages contain sycophantic suck-up endorsements and blatantly false claims, and its news pages are edited to paint a picture preferred by a stridently prejudiced publisher and editor on  personal vendettas, who knowing they can’t win intellectual arguments, seek to influence opinion by portraying those they oppose with an editing pen dripping with bias, animosity, innuendo and omission. Its editorial pages bear a greater similarity to a psychological disorder than they do to standard political discourse.

If I was to once again grade the five Fernandina Beach City Commission candidates during their second forum, this one sponsored by the online newspaper Fernandina Observer at City Hall Thursday, October 16, here’s what their report cards would look like:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not a restaurant or food critic, but I am a critic of restaurant and food critics.

If I eat somewhere and the clam chowder tastes like a boiled rubber boot, I’ll probably not mention that in this space as there may be others who enjoy the flavor of poached latex, I’m just not one of them.

The six degrees of separation theory that proclaims that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, was somewhat proven about five years ago on a blustery winter night at the Newark Airport by four people, three who are now full times residents of the Amelia Island area.

A severe winter storm that struck the Newark Airport dramatically altered the lives of this quartet of diverse personalities and resulted in all of them coming together at Amelia Island’s Chem Cell Club on Riverside Drive for a reunion and celebration in mid-August.

If political forums operated like talent shows and applause was the deciding factor, then two city commission candidate challengers — restaurateur Tim Poynter and educator Robin Lentz — would be declared winners. During last Tuesday evening’s gathering at the Amelia Park Holy Trinity Church of all the candidates running for city commission seats Poynter’s and Lentz’s answers to a series of seven questions consistently drew the loudest and most sustained hand clapping from the almost full house. Poynter is challenging incumbent Charlie Corbett while Lentz is challenging incumbent Sarah Pelican. Retired businessman Roy Smith is also challenging Corbett, and all five attended the session. If I was a debate instructor assigned to grade the participants, here’s what my report card would look like: