Hannah Arendt once said, “Truthfulness has never been counted among the political virtues, and lies have always been regarded as justifiable tools in political dealings.” We see this truth every day, from the highest level of national politics all the way down to the government bodies in America’s smallest towns.

There are no mechanisms to hold politicians accountable when they lie. That’s why the freedom of the press is so fervently protected in the United States. Without it, fearless journalists would be unable to question and doubt the veracity of the many things politicians tell the American people.

Today, Baltimore is being attacked by lies from the mouths of its mayor. The Baltimore mayor has begun a campaign against Sinclair because he wrongly believes that Sinclair is behind a critical ballot initiative that will reduce the number of City Council members from 14 to eight.

As the executive chairman of Sinclair, a company that owns more than 150 broadcast stations across our country, I am no stranger to attacks on myself and Sinclair’s media properties. But I cannot sit idly by while politicians use Sinclair, which employs many hardworking journalists in Maryland, as a boogeyman to scare their constituency.

I am proud to say that FOX45 is the premier award-winning television investigative journalism operation. As someone who grew up in Baltimore City, graduated from Baltimore City College and has lived in the Baltimore region my entire life, I have a personal stake in holding politicians accountable because their decisions affect the same people I grew up with, interact with daily, and employ — Baltimoreans.

Now, the mayor and his associates have taken these attacks to the next level. They are promoting a Stop Sinclair campaign under the belief that Sinclair is behind the upcoming council member-reduction ballot initiative.

Let me be absolutely clear: Sinclair has nothing to do with this ballot initiative. The only interest that Sinclair has is through its ownership of FOX45 and that station’s interest in news and investigating all things government on behalf of the community it serves.

FOX45’s investigative journalism has always focused on holding politicians accountable, and uncovering corruption, abuse of power and waste of taxpayer money. The ballot initiative is not some scheme to consolidate power, but if the public supports it, it will be a means of reducing waste and abuse of taxpayer money, all while still ensuring that Baltimoreans have enough representation. After all, when you look at the facts, reducing the number of City Council members isn’t some outlandish idea. Take Baltimore County as just one of many examples. That county has seven council members who oversee approximately 850,000 residents and a much larger landmass, while Baltimore City has approximately 565,000 residents and a significantly smaller landmass.

Is it so hard to believe that the mayor is simply motivated by his desire to retain his political power?

And let’s not get mistaken; promoting or opposing ballot initiatives requires an investment of money to create a public campaign to secure passage or defeat. Contributing to these public interest campaigns is not uncommon. Think of any left-wing or conservative group out there. They’re all funding public ballot initiatives, because they all have their own agendas. There are abortion rights groups that fund pro-abortion ballot initiatives and oppose anti-abortion ballot initiatives. There are gun groups who do the same with ballot initiatives and laws related to firearms. There are criminal justice organizations that contribute large sums of money for criminal justice ballot initiatives and more. Like them, I contributed financial support for this ballot initiative but did so as a private citizen. Not through Sinclair, and not through any of Sinclair’s broadcast stations.

The actual ballot activity is the effort of a local city resident, Jovani Patterson, who, like many in Baltimore, is becoming more distrustful of city government and wishes to see vast changes that appeal to the public. I chose to support Mr. Patterson as a private citizen because I believe that the once great Baltimore City where I grew up is rapidly following in the footsteps of the once-great city of Detroit, which finally became so corrupt and fiscally irresponsible that it was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2013.

Further, and for the record, I supported Mr. Patterson and his activities several years ago involving term limits for some city elected officials. For those who may have forgotten, there was a great hue and cry from politicians about term limits for obvious reasons. The primary one was probably pensions. Recall that to get a pension as an elected city official, you must serve three terms, and the ballot stated that no person could serve one of two terms. For those that may have forgotten, this term limits ballot initiative was overwhelmingly passed by the residents of Baltimore City by over 70%.

My objective and reasons for supporting Mr. Patterson’s activity were the same then as they are now: to give the public the right to weigh in on issues that may affect their daily lives.

Whatever the mayor and his associates want to say about my private contributions to support the passage of the ballot initiative, the fact is that the people who reside in Baltimore City will be the ones who vote and decide whether the initiative should pass. If you want change, vote. If you don’t want change, don’t vote. It’s simple.

David Smith is a principal owner of The Baltimore Sun and executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcasting Group.