Posted on 05/12/2003 1:15:08 PM PDT by Lance Romance
W.Va. Governor Admits to Being 'not Faithful' to Family
Published: May 12, 2003
|
|
|
Wise, who has a wife and two children, issued a statement in response to inquiries from the Charleston Daily Mail, which on Monday reported that a man was accusing the governor of having had an affair with his estranged wife.
"Several weeks ago, I had to do the toughest thing I have ever done - tell my family I had not lived up to their trust, expectation and love," the governor said in the statement. "I was not faithful to my family. I knew it was wrong, and now I must take full responsibility."
Wise, a Democrat elected in 2000, did not provide further details.
The governor's press secretary, Amy Shuler Goodwin, said the situation will not affect his re-election plans, and added Wise has no intention of resigning.
In his statement, Wise said: "I believe in accountability. I also hope one day for forgiveness, but I know that forgiveness must be earned."
Philip Frye, 40, of Hugheston told the Daily Mail that Wise had an affair with his wife, Angela Mascia-Frye. Frye, a musician, also said he hoped to sell the story because of financial strains.
Angela Mascia-Frye, 35, oversees European operations for the West Virginia Development Office. The Daily Mail reported that she had accompanied Wise on a trip to Spain last year.
"I really don't have anything to say and I don't know what you're writing about," she told The Associated Press.
State Republican Chairman Kris Warner said the GOP would not shy away from referring to Wise's problems in the 2004 gubernatorial campaign.
"Whether you've been unfaithful to your family or to the people of West Virginia, it will have dire consequences," Warner said.
That's funny. Whenever I think of that song, I remember it going, "MOOOOLAH!"
I always thought of it more as "Oooh-ooh-ooh-OHHH-GAHHHHH!"
Now i'll have to go to Gnutella and download it. ;)
Which reminds me, have you ever heard Kompressor's cover of "The Girl from Ipanema"?
Shhhhh. L. don't tell everybody our secrets. Do you want all the undesirables moving here? So far we've managed to keep our paradise relatively unpopulated.
Do you visit WV often? Been underground, have you?
Oh, we're aware of that. It takes a whole lot of folks to man all of the "Senator Robert Byrd (fill in the blank)" facilities. Unfortunately, they are all "government workers" sucking off of the taxpayers' teats.
Separated at birth.
Angela Mascia-Frye
''I hope people are forgiving. He has apologized,'' said Jean Grapes, executive director of the Wood County Democratic Executive Committee. ''I hope people can be forgiving and judge him on the merits of him being a good governor.''
.... Grapes said the episode has to be difficult for the Wise family and she doesn't condone what the governor did.
''I don't think it's always good to base things on the personal lives of our leaders, which we seem to have a tendency to do,'' she said. ''If we judge our leaders on their private lives, we would have had a problem with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Dwight Eisenhower and Franklin Roosevelt,'' Grapes said. ''You can't let that be the final judge of who our leaders are.''
.... Out on the street, people willing to comment about Wise's peccadillo said they were disappointed. They didn't know what happened. ''I didn't know who the governor was until a minute ago,'' said a man who asked not to be identified. ... link
Well, we know there are at least two morons on Wood County.
Gov. Bob Wise has disgraced himself, dishonored his family and disappointed the people of West Virginia. full article
From the Wheeling Intelligencer editorial page:
Gov. Bob Wise has made a terrible mistake. That conclusion, painful as it is to the West Virginians Wise serves, is unavoidable. Wise on Monday admitted in a written statement that he "was not faithful to his family." He provided no details, but it has been reported that the estranged husband of a state employee is accusing the governor of having an affair with the woman.
In a brief statement released by his office, Wise addressed both the public and private aspects of his transgression. He noted that he had discussed it with his family several weeks ago, and he called that "the toughest thing I have ever done."
But the governor went on to "apologize deeply to the people of our state for my actions. ... I believe in accountability. I also hope one day for forgiveness, but I know that forgiveness must be earned."
Indeed. We're certain Wise recognizes that public and private behavior cannot be separated entirely. In admitting that he had not lived up to the trust and expectations his family placed in him, the governor also was conceding that West Virginians have a right to expect a certain level of ethical behavior from those they elect to high office. The question some Mountain State residents are asking themselves today is whether the governor's behavior on other matters, some directly involving the public trust, has lived up to expectations.
It is to Wise's credit that he appears to be making a full admission of his error in judgment. That is more than could be said in the past about several people in public life - at least one in a position much higher than Wise's and guilty of much worse wrongdoing. At least the governor is not attempting to talk his way out of this mess, or to cover up the scandal.
That leaves West Virginians lacking something of the trust they once placed in Wise. And it leaves the governor himself in the position of having to work hard - and, yes, conscientiously - to re-earn that trust. Wise himself put it best: " ... forgiveness must be earned."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.