While I am grateful that The Citizen attempted to provide information to voters in advance of the July 18 election, I am distressed by what appears to be an attempt to undermine the efforts of Robert (Bob) Ruppenthal, a candidate for judge of Magistrate's Court.

The photograph of Mr. Ruppenthal that you printed showed him in a casual shirt with an open collar. All of the other photos in your layout presented candidates in coats and ties.

This struck me as peculiar. So I took the time to learn that Mr. Ruppenthal had submitted an appropriately formal photo to The Citizen well in advance of your deadline. I must conclude that someone on your staff took the time and made a special effort to locate and insert the less appropriate photograph that appeared.

In checking on the photo, I made another discovery. The Citizen listed Mr. Ruppenthal's age as 30. In reality, he is 35. I have learned that Mr. Ruppenthal did not submit any age to The Citizen. So who did the inaccurate research and why was the age of his opponent not mentioned?

Why did these things happen? When you couple the casual photography with the erroneous age, I think you begin to see the answer. Could The Citizen be attempting to distort the record by making Mr. Ruppenthal appear to be unsuitable for judicial office? Was this a deliberate attempt to sabotage a candidate who has all the qualifications to serve with distinction as a judge?

I hope you will have the courage and integrity to set the record straight and to share my observations with your readers.

Terri G. Robinson
Peachtree City

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