Oops. It looks like Pete von Reichbauer has had one of those Cindi Laws moments. The King County Journal reports that the councilman offended several leaders of the Asian-American community when an unfinished draft of his campaign website “accidentally” went live, displaying a list of endorsements that included “various and sundry Asian people”… twenty-one times.
The campaign has since wiped the site clean, but WashBlog has been courteous enough to provide a screen shot as a public service.
Von Reichbauer appeared unfazed by the controversy, displaying an air of bored disinterest, while assuming the buck-stops-somewhere attitude recently adopted by Republicans nationwide.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had a Web site,” von Reichbauer said. “You’ve inspired me to take some interest in it.”
Hey Pete… here’s a little free political consulting for you. The correct answer was: “I’m sorry.”
Von Reichbauer blamed a legislative aide named Viet Nguyen for having a “cute” sense of humor. Nguyen said he and fellow council staffer Joe Fain were developing the site, but that it was a rough draft not meant for public consumption.
Which of course raises another question entirely: um, exactly how many council staffers does von Reichbauer have working on his campaign… and are they doing it on the taxpayer’s dime? Perhaps we can inspire the councilman to take some interest in this issue as well.
UPDATE:
As it turns out, Viet Nguyen actually works on the council staff for Raymond Shaw Reagan Dunn. Council staffers working on political campaigns? Hmm. This is exactly the sort of potential scandal our friend Stefan would dive into… that is, if it involved Democrats.