Kirby Delauter, the Frederick County, Md., council member who threatened to sue a local newspaper reporter for using his name in a story without permission, has apologized.
As we reported yesterday, Delauter was mentioned exactly once in an article about local parking issues by Bethany Rodgers, a reporter for the Frederick News-Post. He did not like that his name was used at all and threatened to sue her in a Facebook post. The newspaper, in a tongue-in-cheek editorial titled "Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter," had a field day with its response on Tuesday. The editorial, predictably, went viral on social media.
Today, Delauter apologized in a statement, published by the News-Post.
"Of course, as I am an elected official, the Frederick News-Post has the right to use my name in any article related to the running of the county — that comes with the job," he said. "So yes, my statement to the Frederick News-Post regarding the use of my name was wrong and inappropriate. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong."
He also said that he has in the past felt frustrated at being "misrepresented or misinterpreted by a local media outlet." He did not elaborate, but added: "I thought I had long ago learned the lesson of waiting 24 hours before I hit the send key, but apparently I didn't learn that lesson as well as I should have."
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