Councilman's "apology" was hardly one at all

Frederick County (Md.) Councilman Kirby Delauter backtracked on Wednesday from his threat to sue The Frederick News-Post for using his name without his permission.

Sounds good, right? Someone admitting when he’s wrong, which seems all too rare in this day and age, and doing so soon after committing the epic gaffe that turned him from locally known at best into a First Amendment villain sounds admirable.

Not so fast.

Delauter’s screed in response to the outcry he caused by threatening to sue reporter Bethany Rodgers was no apology. Hell, it wasn’t even a non-apology apology, which I’ve written about in the past.

“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,” Delauter said in a statement.

“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.”

Not afraid to admit when he’s wrong, perhaps. But nowhere in the statement do I see the words “I’m sorry.” There’s an acknowledgement of letting his temper get the best of him, and an admission that it sometimes escalates rather than calms tense situations.

But there isn’t the most important, most basic element of an apology. The words “I’m sorry.” Hell, even “I apologize” would have been more welcome than their absence. Saying you made a mistake but then not pledging to take concrete steps to ensure that mistake doesn’t happen again is only doing part of the job.

Perhaps acknowledging the First Amendment was a good step in the right direction for Delauter, but with this statement not truly being apology, just merely a backtrack, it reads as more like a snarky response to the sudden dragging of his name through a much larger swath of mud than Frederick County, Maryland. Instead, Delauter’s statement was reminiscent of former congressional staffer Elizabeth Lauten’s non-apology in the wake of her criticism of first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama.

If there is one good thing to come from this episode, it’s the prospect that media -- both traditional and otherwise -- still can hold elected officials and those who work for them accountable. That’s something that journalists around the world need to continue doing to prevent the next Kirby Delauter from picking a fight with the media and the people he represents.