Former mayor Samantha McIntosh alleges a campaign to undermine her candidacy in the 2020 council elections has been revealed, after text messages from the editor of a free Ballarat newspaper were mistakenly sent to her.
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Alistair Finlay, editor of The Ballarat Times, sent text messages to Cr McIntosh's mobile phone inadvertently on September 19, days before running an article on council expenses.
Mr Finlay was stood down as editor by his employer on Friday afternoon. In a statement to The Courier, managing director of the Times News Group (publisher of The Ballarat Times) Warick Brown defended the paper's coverage of the forthcoming election.
"The Times News Group, publisher of the Ballarat Times, has suspended Editor Alistair Finlay effective immediately for two weeks without pay. This period will provide us the time to process the complaint provided yesterday by Cr Samantha McIntosh," Mr Brown said.
"This period also coincides with the balance of local council election voting and given allegations against us of bias we see fit to take this measure, as we believe the coverage of the City of Ballarat council elections has been fair and unbiased and our record is clear and publicly available for all to see."
The messages sent to Cr McIntosh began with a startling crudity.
"Lol did Samantha McIntosh touch you on the d*** when you were a kid or something?" the first of the messages reads.
"Whatever the reason, just know that we're working hard to crush her. To the point where she's under so much pressure she literally ran away from my reporter yesterday.
"I feel like she's not even going to stand."
The Courier is aware of the identity of the intended recipient of the messages, but will not name them as there is no current evidence of their complicity in any conspiracy, nor evidence of the existence of any conspiracy against the former mayor.
Cr McIntosh told The Courier she 'literally couldn't breathe' after receiving the text messages.
"But I also felt relieved, because it proves what I was saying," Cr McIntosh said.
"There has been a campaign going for years against me; other councillors saying I was 'going mad'. I'm sick of it. I've been through my travel expenses 10 times. These people are trying to destroy democracy."
In a series of remorseful texts after realising his error, Mr Finlay attempted to implicate The Courier newspaper in the alleged conspiracy.
Mr Finlay is believed to have received leaked Freedom of Information documents which had been sought by The Courier, alleging The Courier was directed to the documents by a sitting councillor and former council director in an attempt to damage Cr McIntosh.
"I'm reliably told they are going to be used to turn the screws on you," Mr Finlay wrote to Cr McIntosh.
The Courier's editor Eugene Duffy denied the allegation.
"The Courier holds firmly to the editorial position that it is up to the voters to decide who it prefers in any election and not any news organisation," Mr Duffy said.
"Our role is to present as much information as possible without fear or favour to ensure the ratepayers are making the most informed decision possible. Our special eight page liftout this month and our council election homepage, which are the most comprehensive coverage of Ballarat council candidates, show how scrupulously even-handed our approach is to this commitment".
"So regardless of the personal opinions or feelings of individuals, the newsroom at The Courier remains committed to this principle and that is what our readers see and expect in our coverage. Anything less is not only unprofessional but seriously calls into question journalistic integrity."
"At the same time, The Courier is committed to transparency and playing an active role in ensuring the rate paying public have an adequate knowledge of how its monetary contributions to council as a public organisation are being spent, regardless of who is spending it or the validity of the projects on which it is being spent. The public deserves no less and we will not resile from that role."
DISCLOSURE: Caleb Cluff is The Courier journalist who made the original Freedom of Information application for councillor expenses from the City of Ballarat.