Editor, Gazette Journal:

Writing a letter to the editor is not something I would normally do, but after reading the front-page story last week about the candidates who were absent from the Gloucester NAACP forum, I must respond. It seemed as if you were throwing the five absent candidates under the bus.

I reached out to Karen Espinoza and asked if you contacted her to respond to why she was not at the forum. She told me that you did not and if you had, she would tell you that she and her husband are Youth Leaders for a Christian Ministry on Wednesday nights, and she could not ever miss that because the children count on them to be there. This is more than a good reason for missing the event. I am endorsing Karen Espinoza for the Petsworth district, and I hope the citizens of Gloucester County will as well.

I did not reach out to the other candidates, and I wonder if you reached out to them because they did not attend. Do you think the citizens of this county need to know the ...