People For Seattle Are Telling Tales (and no surprise who's part of it)

It came to my attention that there was a recent article in The Stranger about linking the candidacies of both Zachary DeWolf and current CM Kshama Sawant who are both running for City Council in a flyer.

The flyer comes from the "People for Seattle" PAC.  It's a group that has no Facebook page, no Twitter handle and no way to contact them.  What they do have is a website that wants your name and your money.

Here's what caught my eye in the article:

Anyhow, after ticking off tired attacks against Sawant, the mailer highlights criticism of DeWolf's year on the Seattle School Board, claiming he "often missed important meetings and rarely met with parents." In an email, People for Seattle cite Melissa Westbrook's blog to back those claims. 

So I hit that link and nowhere did I say DeWolf has only been on the Board for just a year.  It's not true.  Have I called out his lackluster record and lack of community meetings? Yup.  But those nabobs of negativism at "People for Seattle" are not going to misrepresent what I have stated.

It comes as ZERO surprise to me that two of the people who are part of "People for Seattle" are former CM (and week-long mayor) Tim Burgess and former school board director (who strives mightily to make himself relevant) Stephan Blanford. 

Blanford KNOWS that DeWolf has been in that position for two years - he was on the Board himself in that exact district. 

The attacks against DeWolf are particularly rich considering the fact that Burgess and DeWolf worked together on the Seattle Renter's Commission and, as DeWolf pointed out in an email, Burgess endorsed him for the school board.

And yes, Burgess is quite the hypocrite.

And that shitty photo of DeWolf?

Here's my comment at The Stranger:

"In an email, People for Seattle cite Melissa Westbrook's blog to back those claims."

I AM Melissa Westbrook and I have a few things to say.

People for Seattle, show me where I said he sat on the Board for only a year. Oh yeah, I didn't. You will be hearing from me.

Director DeWolf has been on the Board nearly two years. Do I think him lackluster in that role? I do. Has he failed to have community meetings like the other directors? Yes.

However, this flyer is waaaay out of line. To align two such different people - both who have good and bad points - is wrong. 

Also, those shitty photos designed to make the two candidates look shady, please. Anyone who has ever seen Director DeWolf knows he is a very well-groomed guy. Not sure how they found the one bad photo of him. 

When people are desperate apparently they do desperate things and this flyer reeks of that.

Also to note, there is a shady group called "Moms for Seattle" that former legislator Jessyn Farrell looked into. Phony, phony, phony group.  They do have a Facebook page.  Here's what Farrell had to say:

The cute picture from the ad that caught my eye? It’s a stock image titled “Group of Diverse Kids BLowing [sic] Bubbles Together at the Field.” The rest of the organization is just as phony as the photo.

Their Facebook page was created less than a month ago — June 24th — and they began spending tens of thousands of dollars in advertising shortly after that. They provide virtually no information on who they are, who created them, and which organizations they’re affiliated with.

Their top contribution comes from Katherine Binder, a charter-school proponent from Bellevue (a city which, last I checked, is not even a part of Seattle.)

Take it from me and my years of experience as a legislator: any group that’s unwilling to share basic information has something to hide.

Ditto from me.  Anytime I see a Facebook page or website with no real people to reach out to, my Spidey sense goes up.
 
Here's some of those who contributed to this PAC: (via Twitter@RobertGetch):

I searched up a decent chunk of the "Homemakers" who've donated to MOM PAC, most seem to be 55+ and retired, which is not exactly what I think "mom PAC" is trying to pretend it is.

Gwendolyn McCaw, $2,000 - Married to John McCaw who was a billionaire after selling off a Cell Phone company. Currently manages a company that holds 1600+ patents. They're registered to vote in Shoreline, but reported their donation as "Seattle".

Sheri Shultz, $2,500 - Listed as "Homemaker" she is the wife of ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Sheri also works at the Shultz Family Foundation.

Vivien Gossard, $2,500 - Married to Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. Yes, the people who did the concert to support people who are homeless are donating to the people who want to jail them.