Friday’s post on Kemper Freeman Jr. generated quite a few angry responses from apologists who insisted it was unfair of me to brand the Eastside real estate mogul with his own shameful family history. But if Freeman insists on wielding his wealth and power to influence public policy, I think it only fair and useful to evaluate his words and deeds within a broader historical context.
There is no such thing as a self-made man, and Freeman is arguably less so than others. Inheriting a family fortune built on the suffering of Japanese Americans and the taxpayer largesse that built two floating bridges to his Bellevue real estate holdings, Freeman’s own business investments can be seen as a continuation of a development strategy first laid out by his father and grandfather decades earlier. This is the family that raised and trained him, and from whom he clearly inherited the auto-centric/anti-rail philosophy that drives his civic participation. So why should his family history be ignored when attempting to discern Freeman’s personal motives?
Of course, I don’t raise these issues merely to fling poo at someone with whom I disagree politically (although I must admit that it can be pleasantly cathartic), but rather to chip away at the undeserved credibility Freeman appears to enjoy on transportation planning issues. The fact is, Freeman and his family have prospered handsomely from the public subsidy of our automobile culture, and thus his vehement pro-roads/anti-rail advocacy must be understood in that context. Likewise, as the great-grandson of a Confederate veteran and the grandson of the president of the Anti-Japanese League, it is only reasonable to explore the roots of Freeman’s passionate opposition to allowing South Seattle rail riders convenient access to his exclusive Bellevue properties.
Again, this all comes down to credibility. If his credibility largely stems from his personal wealth, then the circumstances of his wealth are fair game. But if his credibility is supposedly based on merit, then that should be evaluated too.
For example, my first introduction to Freeman came shortly after I began blogging in 2004, while covering Initiative 883, the Freeman backed measure that would have opened up HOV lanes to single occupancy vehicles, while diverting money from transit and other programs to build more highway lanes. After spending $350,000 on the campaign, 90% of it his own money, Freeman abruptly pulled the plug on the initiative just weeks before the petition filing deadline. The campaign told the Seattle Times that it had collected about half the 197,000 required signatures, but even that is surely an exaggeration.
So how do you spend that much money on a signature drive, and yet fall so far short of the mark? Well, you do it by spending your money very poorly.
According to PDC reports, over the course of its several month signature drive, I-883 spent only $92,000 on “voter signature gathering” (enough for maybe 60,000 signatures, tops), compared to $180,000 on “management/consulting services.” That’s gotta be the most inefficient signature campaign I have ever seen.
To put this in perspective, were Freeman put in charge of our region’s transportation budget, and he managed it as efficiently as he managed the I-883 campaign, for every $1 billion we spent constructing new roads, we’d spend an additional $2 billion on management and consulting fees.
So much for the private sector being more efficient than the public.
I mean, any idiot can successfully run a well financed signature drive (you know who you are, Tim), and yet Freeman couldn’t even manage that. And this is the guy who routinely attacks our regional transportation planning as wasteful and inefficient?
So if Freeman’s perceived credibility on transportation planning doesn’t come from merit, and it doesn’t come from any particular expertise on, you know, transportation planning (former State Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald labeled some of Freeman’s proposals “wacky“), where does it come from? Apparently, simply by virtue of him being Kemper Freeman Jr.
And that’s all the more reason to make every effort to put Freeman’s advocacy in its proper context.
More character assasination by the goldy..this is starting to get old goldy.
Oh, how come you dont do a little montage about the environmental groups who are opposed ot the same rail line?
and perhaps you could give a good business case for this line anyway. How many people in south seattle are going to shopping in downtown bellevue anyway? or vice versa?
nobody rides the damn thing as it is….
Seems to me that rather than developing a sound case in support of this new light rail line, you would rather attack those who are against it – but this is no surprise, its how you operate.
and really – bringing up his great grandfather who fought for the south in the civil war? really? are you shitting me?
keep on with the character assasination, rather than actually trying to provide a case to support your ramblings – one of these days, someone with some money is going to call your bluff and bankrupt your ass with a lawsuit.
When we who think right used your “argument style” on Teddy Kennedy; family history, waitress sandwiches, etc…., we were attacked, attacked, attacked by HA Libtardos for speaking facts.
Funny how that is…
“Friday’s post on Kemper Freeman Jr. generated quite a few angry responses from apologists who insisted it was unfair of me to brand the Eastside real estate mogul with his own shameful family history”
Can’t speak for anyone but myself but I objected only to calling Kemper Freeman a rascist because his Grandfather was one. Nor would I describe myself as an apologist for the man, whom I don’t know or care about.
“There is no such thing as a self-made man, and Freeman is arguably less so than others.”
To the extent that Freemans’ wealth was inherited I suppose you’re right. Last I checked though the floating bridges benefited a few more people than the Freemans. Also, it’s certain those bridges or something like them would have been built simply in response to population pressure following WW2, with or without Freeman pressure. And the charge you made against the man wasn’t anything to do with development strategy or being auto centric. It was rascism.
For the rest-
Attacking credibility on the ground of being inexpert is smart. Attacking credibility on unsubstantiated charges of rascism isn’t. And just because one guy doesn’t run a good initiative campaign doesn’t mean all government is more efficient than all private sector.
I guess the HA ‘Libtardos’ are at it again — with those labels and character assassination attempts.
I would never stoop to applying denigrative labels to the asswipe conservatives who comment here.
That’s pronounced ‘ahs wi pay’. It’s a Navajo word that means ‘respected opponent’. That’s what I mean when I call these guys asswipes.
For people who claim to be able to divine the ‘original intent’ of the signers of the constitution, you trolls certainly don’t display any respect for the history of an individual having any affect upon him.
Or, do you just say whatever contradicts the ‘Libtardo’?
lebowski @2,
So what you’re saying is, people with money should use it to intimidate people without it to stop speaking their mind.
Why do you hate America?
According to a Seattle Times article published this weekend, if Freeman gets his way on light rail routing through Bellevue, the light rail line will cut right through the middle of the eastside’s best recreational park/wetland. Not that he gives a rap.
Freeman is an example of how one rich guy can overrule the wishes of a million hardworking taxpayers. And people still dare to call our system of government a “democracy”?
Re 6
I get that you hate conservatives. Congratulations.
But do try to distinguish between an apple and an orange.
The original intent of the framers of the Constitution can be documented, and it matters. This was a legal document and the intended meanings of words and phrases matters. It’s those intended meanings that flesh out the language and put life into it. Sure, original intent isn’t the only way to evaluate meaning in the Constitution, but it’s an important one.
Character assasination based soley on the actions of a persons’ grandfather is a little different. Goldy wasn’t trying to get at Kemper Freemans’ state of mind, intentions or character attributes. He was trying to denigrate the man through a 2 generation old association.
See how easy English is to understand if you apply yourself a little?
There, see how easy
@1 “More character assasination by the goldy..this is starting to get old goldy.”
The horseshit spewed by numbskulls like you is endless, isn’t it? This is why wingnuts have, and deserve, no credibility among anyone except themselves.
Goldy simply stated the facts about what Freeman’s character actually is. This discussion is relevant because Freeman uses his money and influence to change public policy, and that makes him a public figure whose character and motives are relevant to the debate of the public policies he wants to change. Goldy’s message is Freeman is someone the public shouldn’t trust, and I agree wholeheartedly with that. If you think Freeman is some kind of public-spirited do-gooder, you’re an even bigger fool than you look.
@2 “and really – bringing up his great grandfather who fought for the south in the civil war? really? are you shitting me?”
It’s relevant to Freeman’s attitude toward south county residents, shithead, and explaining where that attitude comes from shows why Freeman shouldn’t be listened to.
@3 Bush’s granddaddy sold oil to Hitler. What of it? Does that help explain Bush? Yeah, to some extent, some things do get passed down from generation to generation, especially when those things have made a lot of money for the family.
Great post, Goldy.
The Tacoma paper ran an editorial in todays paper about light-rail in Bellevue and gave Kemper a shout out:
And went on to say:
Roger @8 says:
My husband worked for the parks department in Bellvue for ~6 years. He learned that the people of Bellevue LOVE their parks and are willing to spend good money to keep them nice. One hopes the Bellvian park-goers will want to put the kobosh on Kemper’s plan.
According to wingnut theology, we need a pogram or anti-Oriental campaign every generation or two in order to create Kemper Freemans to create jobs for us mere mortals.
Horseshit.
According to wingnut theology, we need genocide and mass dispossession of targeted groups to create billionaires, because without billionaires the rest of us couldn’t enjoy our two-job, debt-laden, hand-to-mouth existences.
Horseshit.
Lostinaseaofblue…
The “centrist” is the 49th doppelganger used by headless lucy. He needs to change his name every so often because his psychosis demands it. His “Winston Smith” was the last doppelganger who made any sense but he slipped and Puddy recognized the tone, cadence and sentence structure and it was apparent he was headless lucy.
Don’t feed the racist. It will eventually go away or change it’s name for the 50th time.
Recently Herr Goebbels Himmler Dumb Bunny “Retired Lawyer”@16 said
We see Herr Goebbels Himmler Dumb Bunny “Retired Lawyer” is up to his usual daily low standards of commentary.
Wait for it… something useless will appear saying he’s just spouting off so we who can think right can understand it…
@4 No liberal has ever said “all government is more efficient than all private sector.” That’s your own false construct created to shore up your false characterization of liberals.
But nearly every conservative claims all private sector is more efficient than all government. That’s as false as everything else people like you mouth about liberals and liberalism, from “palling around with terrorist” to “government death panels.”
All you’re proving by constantly relying on falsehoods to make your arguments is that your arguments have no merit.
@2
Great grand dad fought for the south and then after the war headed out west and made his living printing p race-baiting broadsheets. Like great grand dad, like grand dad, like dad, like son.
One of my ancestors left the south to fight for the north in the civil war. After the war he headed out west where he helped found several towns and churches. There’re a few historical plaques scattered around with his name on them. His story is very much a part of who I am.
Recently Herr Goebbels Himmler Dumb Bunny “Retired Lawyer”@15 said
We see Herr Goebbels Himmler Dumb Bunny “Retired Lawyer” is up to his usual daily low standards of commentary
Wasn’t that tried by Democratic FDR Herr Goebbels Himmler Dumb Bunny “Retired Lawyer”?
@5 First of all, you’re no “centrist.” Secondly, wingnuts aren’t respectable, haven’t earned any respect, and shouldn’t be respected. Third, a wingnut complaining about “character assassination? You gotta be kidding.
@18 Keep on deluding yourself that you understand anything if it amuses you.
Re 19
From the blog-
“To put this in perspective, were Freeman put in charge of our region’s transportation budget, and he managed it as efficiently as he managed the I-883 campaign, for every $1 billion we spent constructing new roads, we’d spend an additional $2 billion on management and consulting fees.
So much for the private sector being more efficient than the public.”
Having said that a couple corrections are in order. I realize and have written that government has a role in society. I have written that some things must be done by government either to create a level playing field, or to maintain liberties.
Goldy was the one who mode the logical leap from Freemans’ ineptitude to ‘So much for the private sector being more efficient than the public.’ Not me.
So… Freeman’s ancestor convinced government to build free roads and bridges to bring people to his then mostly empty (and ill-gotten) land holdings, and that, according to the conservative mindset is GOOD. But now that Kemperville is a thriving city and the majority of citizens of the areas in and around Kemperville want to build rail and transit to bring people to the same land, that is BAD.
Conservathought is an interesting phenomenon.
@24
Lost… what a perfect name for you.
I’m not a Freeman fan, but I’m not a fan of this post either. I think the acknowledged “sins of the father” attack does nothing to damage Freeman’s credibility. It does, however, risk damaging the credibility of transit supporters.
@7…no, what I am saying is that people who use the public forum(in this case your blog) for character assasinataion should be wary of the consequences.
@11…so you really think he sat down with great grand pops to talk black folk?
really? wow….
well then I guess anybody with ancestors who fought for the south in the civil war should watch out – its open season on their character.
@10…no he didnt – he implied that based upon Freeman’s father, grandfather, and great grandfather, that his business decisions are based on racism
There are no “facts” regarding that – only innuendo for the strict purpose of character assasination.
so goldy, when are you going to do an expose’ on the family tree of the environmentalists who are against the light rail line in Bellevue?
I’m sure their environmental concerns are just a convenient cover for their racism…
Lebowski,
Puddy knows of relatives who’s great-grandmother came from Jimmy Carter’s great-grandfather’s slave plantation. We now know through Goldy’s semantics above Jimmy Carter presidential decisions were molded by his slave owning great-grandfather Alton Carter and his son and his grandson which fits Goldy’s definition to a T!
lebowski…
You still didn’t answer my question: Why do you hate America?
Goldy, you stepped in it. The gratuitous inclusion of Kemper’s racist grandfather has given the tolls the opening they need to smother this comment string.
There are folks out there (unemployed, maybe retired) with nothing better to do than troll all day for opportunities like this. In the future, don’t make it so easy for them.
Not that moron, lebowski again.
Hey – guy – if it wasn’t for the scourge of “political correctness” over the course of the last 50 years, Freeman v 3.0 would be just as racist as the first one.
But, thanks to liberals and right minded conservatives (all four of them), civil rights gains make people like Kemper (who learned his “values” from Gramps) have to keep their mouths zipped.
Really, scotto? I wonder if you or lebowski can pull up a quote from Kemper dis-associating himself from hyper-racict gramps – or, at least, renouncing his right wing views?
There are PLENTY of cases of sons and grandsons doing that – heck, even the US Government did reparations for Japanese-Americans interned during WWII.
But I can’t find a single case of Kemper making even a small attempt to separate himself from the foundation of his family empire.
I ahve ancestors who fought for the South in the Civil War.
How many times am I supposed to apologize for that? To whom? When?
Do I have to stop eating grits ‘n shrimp, is that a painful reminder of something or other?
All you northern scandinavian descended people whose ancestors NEVER took slaves, NEVER raped anyone, and NEVER plundered Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Malta, Catalonia, Russia and Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, please advise us poor sinful descendants of great great grandparents who got drafted into the conferate army or who volunteered!
I just don’t know how many times to apologize.
Maybe we can also ask the Native Americans how many apologies are needed, too!
Let’s start with the Aztec-descended peoples, okay?
@33….oh spare me goldy, its YOU who hate America….your vision of a socialist paradise is about an un-american as one can get.
nice sophomoric try though…..
For public transportation projects, our current system of using consultants leads to about 8-10% of the total cost of a project, roughly.
So if it costs $1.5mil to build a lane-mile of interstate, it costs between $120-150k to design that lane-mile (stuff like traffic/signals, environmental, stormwater, pavement, geometrics, etc.).
oops…8-10% of total construction costs.
Sorry, Goldy, this whole argument of yours makes no sense because of something you wrote:
If his ideas are wacky (which they are), why do we need to even try to understand his motives (as if anyone but Freeman, Jr. can understand them)? Freeman, Jr. isn’t the source of his perceived credibility, it is the media that’s giving him his credibility…why not ask them? To me, Freeman, Jr. is not much different than Tim Eyman (who is also given a lot of credibility by the media for some reason). I don’t give a hoot in hell what motivates these guys, their “wacky ideas” tell me enough.
Roger Rabbit, for example, has expressed his concern regarding some aspects of Sound Transit light rail plan in the past; should we question his motives? If I have mischaracterized Roger’s arguments, I know he’ll correct me.
It comes down to this: where does this guilt by association stop? Freeman, Jr.? Anyone who is related at all? Any of his employees? Anyone who may agree with him on this issue?
@37 My great-great-granddaddy was an upright minister, so fuck you.
Now you know where my Christianity came from.
Thanks for posting these articles on Mr. Freeman. It’s important that his influence and agenda are exposed. The vitriol in the responses indicate Freeman and his supporters are not use to having their machinations revealed.
Yeah yeah yeah. And Gov. Gregoire belonged to an all-white sorority. Vast conspiracy. Yada yada yada.
Freeman’s money management skills are even worse than Goldy described.
Freeman has invested millions to buy engineers to promote his crazy road building schemes. He has also invested millions on lobbying and supporting Republican candidates.
Yet it turn out that candidates who openly align with Freeman’s road building plans get soundly defeated when they are outed. The last two campaigns for King County Executive are two good examples.
Freeman’s investment of time and money in transportation is the biggest reason why there are no Republicans in the state legislature representing any district that touches the shores of Lake Washington – including many former Republican strongholds like the 41st, the 45th and the 48th.
It is OK to delve into Kemper’s past Goldy. Freeman brings it on through his deeply personal attacks on the integrity of good people. Rather that debate his ideas on their merits, he is notorious for trying to cast doubt on the motivations of people he opposes through personal attacks.
He’s a big loser. He uses his money to gain credibility that he wouldn’t have otherwise. He deserves a public shaming.
all the asians at belsquare don’t know or don’t care…