re: St. George proponents hold rally; pull out of planned televised forum with opponents

Had to Google M.E.Cormier. Found the following in a BR Business Report column re the first STG campaign:
BR Business Report

"I heard a personal story from a businessman who had signed the petition, along with his wife. He lived in a neighborhood that has two signs at the entrance saying “No solicitation.” He was visited twice by solicitors he presumes were with Better Together asking him and his wife if they wanted to remove their signatures. He told the woman the first time, “No.” And she left.

"But a male solicitor came back a second time (obviously having info from Better Together). This time, only his wife was home, with their new baby. When asked about removal, she also told him, “No.” The solicitor then screamed, “You must be one of the devils who signed the petition.”

She closed and locked the door. He proceeded to bang on the door and ring the doorbell. The woman was scared, and she went and hid in the baby’s room, where the baby was crying, having been awakened by the noise. Is this the way to bring Baton Rouge “together”?

"Attempts were made by the husband to reach someone with Better Together, but they had no phone or address on their website. (He had to email another group, EducateBR, who said they were not associated with the petition but would forward his information to Better Together.) No one ever responded to him from Better Together.

"The story was relayed to the St. George proponents, who pointed out the bizarre and threatening behavior to The Advocate.

"In June The Advocate ran an article that referred to this incident noted by the husband that was posted online.

"What was the response from Better Together leader M.E. Cormier? The Advocate wrote, “Cormier said the letter, which was sent to them as well, came from a St. George proponent. But she said their notes show that canvassers weren’t in the neighborhood the day of the alleged incident.” Simple, just deny it happened and dismiss the complaint (and never bother to call and discuss). Fact is, the man’s email never specified a date, so how could she have checked? When questioned by The Advocate, she simply lied.

"This businessman, who is a CPA and MBA, was upset and angry when he told me the story. Such actions make it hard to get folks to come “together” in the aftermath."