Alas, this is the Age of Trump, the age when facts and reality don’t matter as much as perception and prejudices. So the latest version of that has hit the Falls Church Council in the form of outrageous innuendos about so-called “perceived conflicts of interest” by evil developers meddling in the affairs of the Little City. In all our 33 years of producing our weekly newspaper here, we’ve never encountered such groundless, mean-spirited mendacity as Council members Erin Flynn and David Snyder unloaded Tuesday night, coming incredibly as they did in the context of an extraordinarily positive report on economic gains in the Little City.

The claim of “conflict of interest” is a very serious charge and as such needs always to be taken very seriously by anyone who claims it or who is being accused of it. If it is being applied wrongly or maliciously, it constitutes defamation, plain and simple, and anyone who is wrongly accused of it ought to sue and demand major penalties. If the charges brought in this case are of that nature, then those making the allegations, especially insofar as they are sworn members of the Falls Church city government, are putting at risk every citizen of Falls Church, who will be liable to pay the damages that could incur as a result.

In an age when truth, itself, is under fire, thanks to Trump and those who continue to support him, we must be vigilant to stand for it and not stand by when cavalier attacks constituting little less than character assassinations arise, especially from public officials. If there is some specific incident or activity that needs to be called into question, then there needs to be a very serious case brought to claim it, and not vague and general allegations, which do more harm than good. At this newspaper, we will not sit idly by and watch persons at whatever level feel they have an entitlement to disregard truth in the name of innuendo.

Citizens of the City of Falls Church have been especially blessed in the recent period to enjoy a level of commercial and economic development that is the envy of the region. It has enabled our government to lower the real estate tax rate while at the same time to offer competitive salaries for both City and school employees, afford one of the best education systems in the entire U.S. and still offer infrastructure improvements and quality of life amenities and even affordable housing options that are unmatched even in this affluent part of the world. It is incredible that some in our local government would want to smear and disparage that effort with what they were apparently unable or unwilling to document in making their vague allegations this week.

We are proud of our community’s economic development, and stand with those who seek to continue and expand it to the good of everyone here.