Yes, I think so. They stated that they had checked out the opponent's residency and voter registration and found nothing inconsistent, but it was revealed there were indeed inconsistencies found by another party looking at the same information. Wouldn't that mean they either lied about investigating or lied about what they found?

And, although it was the former police chief who lied when he said he was "no fan," the newspaper didn't mention his previous public declaration of support for the opposing candidate in the article. It seems more than just negligence.