If u cn rd ths, u cn gt gd-pyng jb.
And if you spell like that, you can be probably be elected mayor of Petersburg, Va. The current mayor, W. Howard Myers, can only dream of expressing himself in readable prose, judging from an email he sent to members of the city council.
First the back story: Petersburg, a city of just 32,000 people, is battling severe budgetary issues. It has an expected budget deficit of $12 million and over $19 million in unpaid bills. The city is even in danger of losing its garbage pick-up service because of missed payments to the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority.
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But Myers, who is black, claims the many people critical of his administration are simply racists out to take him down. And he makes his claim in a leaked email that are suggests a tenuous grasp on written English.
Here is the email:
Petersburg mayor letter by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd
The grammar is so atrocious that at times it’s difficult to discern what Myers is actually trying to say. Some of the most baffling lines include:
- Please be advised and understanding of the significant pressures we as Council Members are being adhered too, as well as being bullied and forced to make unlike leadership decisions.
- Our economic and financial development is in crisis and until this Council set aside the foolishness of one and Facebook cronies, we will not be able to move forward.
- No one Council member does it alone as always regurgitated
- I will as the representative of Ward 5 and as Mayor duly to my right hand, serve the Public without blemish and from scare tactics from a few racists and Republicansupporters.
- Vote your conscious not your election.
Under his signature at the close of the letter, Myers declares in all caps “I AM PETERSBURG.” Give him credit: He spells both “Petersburg” and his own name correctly.
Since the letter was published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Myers has refused to back down from the letter, or acknowledge its countless grammatical errors.
“As a staunch member of the Democratic Party … I respect all people, however, I stand by the verbiage I submitted to Council,” he said Thursday, according to local WWBT News.
The same day, Petersburg had $390,000 in firefighting equipment repossessed because the city hadn’t paid for it, even though the city received a special grant from the federal government to purchase it.
This report, by Blake Neff, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
