No doubt state Rep. Geoff Simpson (D-47) is facing a tough reelection fight, what with the press gleefully trumpeting his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, yet quietly chirping like crickets when the case was quickly dropped without charges being filed. But it’s not just his bad press that’s made Simpson vulnerable this election cycle, it’s also his stalwart opposition to all things BIAW, which has made him the target of some very powerful enemies.
And when the BIAW goes after you, they fight dirty, unimpeded by the law, let alone the Queensberry Rules.
Take for example an email sent out recently to a number of lobbyists by Drew Stokesbary, the campaign chair for Simpson’s Republican opponent Mark Hargrove… an email so inappropriate that even lobbyists were disgusted, prompting several to forward copies directly to Simpson and his campaign.
I noticed that one of your clients, [REDACTED], has contributed to Geoff Simpson. I’d like to encourage you to see if you can get Simpson’s opponent, Mark Hargrove, a similar contribution from [REDACTED]. I understand there are political reasons for that contribution, but the dynamics of the race of have been shifting lately.
[…] The caucus is making a significant hard-dollar contribution, and probably a larger soft-dollar contribution. Builders, construction, insurance, pharma, NFIB, ag, and others are jumping in now.
You gotta appreciate young Stokesbary’s eagerness to take the initiative, if not his respect (or lack thereof) for our state’s campaign finance laws, for three things immediately jump out from both his email and his public record: A) Stokesbary is clearly using Simpson’s PDC reports to solicit funds, which is illegal; B) Stokesbary clearly implies that he is coordinating soft-dollar expenditures with his state caucus, which is illegal; and C) Stokesbary is… well… an asshole, which isn’t illegal per se, but turns out to be quite pertinent to the rest of this post.
For in addition to being Hargrove’s campaign chair and son-in-law, Stokesbary turns out to be an employee of both the BIAW and Attorney General Rob McKenna, a bigot, a racist, a George W. Bush fan, a teacher-hater, a sycophant, a hothead and, well, an asshole.
Hmm… where to start? How about with the most damning of the epithets I just tossed Stokesbary’s way, his association with the lying, cheating, equally assholic bastards at the BIAW, where according to their annual report, he was employed at least through 2007. And it was with a fellow BIAW employee Tom Kwieciak, that Stokesbary most visibly displayed the organization’s unique approach to public discourse, by notoriously heckling professional golfer Curtis Strange from the hospitality box of the 2007 Boeing Classic.
“Go for it, Curtis,” Drew Stokesbary, 22, of Olympia yelled from the Canyon Club. “Be a man.”
Strange, 52, took his time while he surveyed the troublesome hole. His expression didn’t change.
“Go for it, Curtis,” Stokesbary repeated loudly, seated at a table. “Hit it like a man.”
Choosing the conservative route, Strange swung and put one in the fairway. Another verbal assault followed him off the tee.
“That’s what the ladies’ tour is for, Curtis,” Stokesbary chided as the golfer passed in front of the box.
[…] “I heard on the radio that he’s considered a hothead, which is why I singled him out, and he proved it,” Stokesbary said, referring to Strange.
I mean… what an asshole.
That is the sort of antisocial behavior Stokesbary has displayed throughout his short life, which of course makes him perfect BIAW material. According to a blog post by a Chinese classmate of his at Duke, Stokesbary used to intentionally “stir up trouble with his incendiary arguments” during history class…
Once, when he made a remark about how if immigrants wanted to keep their traditions alive, they shouldn’t have come to the US in the first place, my friends had to literally restrain me from knocking him over.
And in his Amazon review of Gordon Park’s classic 1964 “The Learning Tree,” a novel about growing up black in a white man’s world, Stokesbary displayed his usual racial sensitivity:
this was about the worst and slowest-paced book i’ve ever read. In english class we had to read a book by a black author and my teacher thought i might like it. but i didn’t. it was terrible. by the time you get about halfway through the pace picks up, but by then it’s pointless. don’t buy this book or read it. please.
Yup. Nothing worse than being forced to read a book by a black author.
I don’t know much about Hargrove, but if I were him I’d be more than bit uncomfortable having this unrepentant fratboy chair my campaign, let alone marry my daughter. And as for Rob McKenna, I think he needs to answer a few questions about whether Stokesbary was acting on his authority, since the email certainly appears to give that impression.
This email, in which Stokesbary warns lobbyists that clients who have given to Simpson better give to Hargrove too, was sent from a RobMcKenna.org email address, and signed by Stokesbary with the title “Field Director, Re-Elect AG Rob McKenna.” The clear impression left with some recipients was that this was a direct request from McKenna, the most powerful Republican in the state, and a man in a position to impose political fealty.
So why would McKenna risk putting his name on such a legally and ethically dubious email? After obtaining a copy of Stokesbary’s email from a political consultant, I contacted Rep. Simpson and asked him for his response. Not surprisingly, he seems to believe it all comes down to the BIAW:
“Why are they coming after me? They want existing taxpayers to pay for the roads, schools and fire stations their new development requires and I think the developers should pay their fair share through impact fees. They are one of the state’s most powerful political group but I stand up to them and am one of the biggest obstacles to them getting what they want in Olympia. They want growth without regulation. I want controlled and planned growth. They want to maintain their ability to skim industrial insurance money to use for political purposes but I worked to stop them. Hargrove hasn’t even been elected yet and he’s already sold out to the BIAW.”
If so, expect this campaign to get much nastier. And, less legal.
Goldy
I have a thought …
what about an initiative to end dirty campaigning? I can imagine several:
1. A law that would make campaign fraud involving the candidate themselves, (as in I am John and I approve the message the Obama is a Muslim) punishable by removal from office.
2. A law with real penalties for campaign fraud by the perps. As I see it this would be civl law that would have allowed Kerry to sue for defamation of political character.
3. A law requiring forfeiture of all cmapaign funds by any entity found guilt of campagn fraud?
Now all I need is 5000k or so to buy the signatures?
@1
This will end the democratic party Goldylocks.
I second SeattleJew’s initiative though with some additions.
I think we should add felony jail time to the removal from office in number 1. Two or three years should be good.
Basically, anyone convicted of campaign fraud should go to jail. If it’s an organization, then everyone of it’s officers should go to jail too.
Nice reporting! If your muckracking gets either MSM attention or starts a lawsuit (hopefully both), that’s worth $20 to me. Sweet.
@4: No doubt. Very good research, interesting source materials.
I suspect that under the current system, a complaint to the relevent authorities will have just as much affect as this:
Non Sequitur 17SEPT2008
Har-Har–
As an avid golfer, I have attended many past PGA events. Curtis Strange is the ultimate hothead. Good for Stokesbary heckling the bastard. Strange has made millions thanks to fans like Stokesbary and is incredibly arrogant. I wish I had seen that in person!
As for the part about, intentionally “stir up trouble with his incendiary arguments” …..hell Goldy, that’s what you do every single day!!!
You should be saluting Stokebary for being “just like Goldy”!
Great catch Goldy.
I still stand by my earlier comments saying Simpson should have stepped down.
@1 Of course Obama is a muslim. I’ve seen
pictures of him with a turban on his head.
I think he really is Osama Bin Laden. I want
a DNA test.
So the hothead frat guy campaign manager is also Steve Hargrove’s son in law? I wonder if the scary tweaker gene is celebrated by the Hargrove side.
Hm. I wonder what this is?
Name Stokesbary, Andrew Ryan Defendant
Participant Court King County District
Case Number File BI0741710
Violation Date 02-07-2008
Why would McKenna risk putting his name on such a dubious email?
Um, because McKenna is a sleezeball dressed up as a Boy Scout.
A couple years ago, when McKenna pal & Shoreline City Councilmember John Chang was up on some serious charges, http://www.kirotv.com/investig.....etail.html Rob McKenna came in to rescue Chang, and was featured on an official campaign print advertisement stating “I have viewed John Chang’s File, and support his re-election”. As in, Attorney General Rob McKenna.
The guy was trading drugs and stolen goods for sex w/prostitutes and free rooms in his Aurora Ave motel, for christsakes.
It’s as if McKenna is attracted to sleeze wherever he goes. Stokesbary is just the latest slimeball to come out of his camp. One possible motivating factor for the lack of ethical judgement: McKenna has worked so hard to cultivate the Boy Scout image, he figures lazy local media will never dig into any of the muck which makes up the foundation of his political career.
@10 & 11
Keep up the good work.
This just in: The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other going in the opposite direction.
Hey Goldy, I know you love to hate BIAW, but your obsessiveness in trying to connect BIAW with any and all things political to which you object is starting to sound a bit conspiracy theory-esque. I think you have been spending too much quality time with Joel Connelly.
Drew Stokesbary hasn’t worked for BIAW for nearly a year. If you want to use Stokesbary’s actions to embarrass his employer, you should stick to the right one—Rob McKenna. He is Stokesbary’s employer and it is his name Stokesbary invokes. How BIAW comes into play is perplexing.
Your and wife-beater Geoff Simpson’s claim that Stokesbary’s email “all comes down to the BIAW” is just weird. I’m sure you both think BIAW is responsible for WaMu’s financial crisis too.
Erin Shannon
BIAW
Erin @ 14
Oh, my. I must thank you for stopping by. We haven’t been treated to such a fascinating display of verbal diarrhea in quite some time.
Let’s see, the fact that Stokesbary’s e-mail is remarkably similar to the BIAW’s own illegal methods is something we’re supposed to completely ignore. Apparently, also, we’re supposed to ignore the fact that the domestic violence charges against Geoff Simpson were immediately dropped (according to you he’s still a “wife-beater”).
And, to think, less than a year ago, Stokesbary was, in fact, employed by the BIAW. “Weird,” is not quite the correct word to describe the connections here. Rather, “uncanny” would be a far more appropriate adjective.
Erin @14,
Oh Erin, come on… Rob McKenna is the BIAW’s waterboy… he’s the guy that goes to your annual meeting and thanks you for suing his client, while in the middle of the lawsuit!
Are you trying to tell me that Stokesbary’s BIAW pedigree had nothing to do with getting him a job with the McKenna campaign, or that McKenna doesn’t prostitute himself on your issues? Saying there’s no connection between BIAW and McKenna is like saying there’s no connection between BIAW and Dino Rossi, while your spending $3.5 million of illegally skimmed money on his behalf.
So if you’re spending money on Hargrove, and McKenna is raising money for Hargrove, and Stokesbary worked for the two you… I’m pretty comfortable making the connection.
But hey… thanks for stopping by. Drop in to DL sometime and I’ll buy you a drink.
Don Joe –
Nice try, protecting the wife beater. Let’s look at the facts: His wife filed restraining orders (rescinded within days), called 9-1-1 (oh, it was a misunderstanding)….whatever. It’s classic. Of course it was all a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that his wife deserved to be treated with respect. He’s a bully who thinks women are shit.
@14
Dear Erin,
Does the BIAW still endorse the idea that environmentalists were inspired by Hitler and the Nazi party?
Oh, and while you’re here why not comment on the PDC’s recent ruling that the BIAW is breaking campaign finance laws?
As the Seattle P-I has reported, the BIAW has spent more than $2 million through a political action committee to oust Gov. Chris Gregoire. The group is anything but moderate; the BIAW’s newsletter this year portrayed environmentalism as a Nazi philosophy. The Machiavellian BIAW’s role in the campaign casts serious doubt on Rossi’s unctuous pitch of himself as a change agent who would confront Olympia’s problems in bipartisan fashion. Audaciously, Rossi also portrays himself as a candidate who relies on regular folks for contributions.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....buted.html
geoff simpson is still a big jerk.
@ 17
Nice try, protecting the wife beater.
Holy crap. You didn’t even try to come with an argument that doesn’t beg the question. And in nearly record time as well. I’m impressed.
@17
I do believe the thread is about Drew Stokesbary breaking the law and his connection with the BIAW and Rob McKenna.
I tend to agree with #19’s take on Simpson, but that’s not the point here.
@14 Again!
I thought I’d re-post this encase you missed my questions further up the thread.
@14
Dear Erin,
Does the BIAW still endorse the idea that environmentalists were inspired by Hitler and the Nazi party?
Oh, and while you’re here why not comment on the PDC’s recent ruling that the BIAW is breaking campaign finance laws?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYn5hxeFt10
16. Goldy spews:
“Oh Erin, come on… Rob McKenna is the BIAW’s waterboy…”
Goldy–
Just like Barrack Hussein O-
blah-blah is Tony Rezko’s waterboy, right? Oh and also the waterboy for Ayers, Flager and Jeremiah Wright.
Isn’t that how it works.
Kind of a stretch that doesn’t reach Goldy…which is typical of the fantasy world associated with losers who cannot get laid….except in their dreams.
Oh and PS–
Stokesbary has some balls to heckle a guy with a 3-wood in his hand Goldy. You have to admire that vs. this kind of chicken-shit stuff you engage in.
Erin Shannon is the PR Director for the BIAW?
Wow. Them are some brilliant PR skills.
I guess this career-limiting approach has been in effect for some time – at least since 2004:
….the discussion was sparked by George Howland’s piece in the Seattle Weekly, “Political Capital“, in which he reveals that the BIAW is using insurance revenues from municipal governments to help finance their political activities. The article also gives some good insight into the winner-takes-all attitude of the BIAW:
This past election cycle, it spent between $1.7 million and $1.8 million, mostly in support of three candidates: Republican gubernatorial hopeful Dino Rossi, Republican Attorney General-elect Rob McKenna, and conservative state Supreme Court Justice-elect Jim Johnson.
Erin Shannon, the BIAW’s public relations director, is thrilled with the results: “It was a big ‘Fuck you!’ to all the liberals out there.”
Replies Shannon of the BIAW: “We are kicking their ass. How many years have we whipped labor?”
Bill @ 17: Since when did angry right wing guys become so sensitive to (psuedo) feminist issues? Hello? Mens’ Rights? Ever heard of that? How’s about the NRA attempt to exempt (actual) wife-beaters from losing their right to bear arms?
The Republican Party base is made up of frustrated, middle aged woman-hating dudes who can’t stand the thought of paying child support after a divorce they never got over. That is one serious flip-flop / 180 degree attitude change that’s hard for any sane person to swallow, Bill.
Maybe it falls in line with the Palin camp’s attempt to mimic Hillary’s cries of SEXISM IS EVERYWHERE. Or, maybe it’s just a phony attempt to pretend that you care about something you could really care less about….
If you have a couple minutes, David Postman did a great job of deconstructing Erin Shannon’s distortions and lies regarding her “enviros = Nazis” charade.
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsou.....lists.html
Short version: Postman contacted all the sources Shannon cited to make her ridiculous claims. Each and every source told Postman that Erin Shannon not only got it wrong, but had twisted the conclusions of their research to reflect an outcome totally opposite from reality.
Which brings us back to a familiar place: these right wing ideologues can only exist in their own made-up unreality. Look at them go berzerk when faced with some cold, hard truths.
Back in the day, I had a lot of respect for the Republican Party, because you could usually count on their spokemodels and candidates to tell the truth. The post-Reagan Republican is cut from a different mold, relying primarily on faith-based politics, rooted in a right wing ideology which self-identifies as honest and God-fearing; but their actions have come to defy both Christianity and a basic regard for the truth.
Erin Shannon & Tom McCabe personify this ends-justify-means attitude: “the fucking truth is what we say it is…and we got all the money in the world to fucking lie all we want.”
The following actions occurred in (Thurston County) District Court involving those charged with driving while under the influence of intoxicants: Shannon, Erin Colleen, 32, 3830 Arbor Drive S.E., Lacey, found guilty, fined $240, sentenced to serve 365 days with 364 suspended. Date of violation: Dec. 4.
Wow. No wonder spokesmodel Erin Shannon comes across as bitter. Or, maybe this is her evil twin at work:
1 Shannon, Erin Colleen
Defendant Thurston County Dist I32348TC 02-12-2001
2 Shannon, Erin Colleen
Defendant Clark County Dist 5690589 02-09-1989
3 Shannon, Erin Colleen
Defendant Clark County Dist 99951 12-30-1987
4 Shannon, Erin Colleen
Defendant Thurston County Dist C00261327 12-05-2003
5 Shannon, Erin Colleen
Defendant Lewis County Dist I05395756 08-24-2007
@26
The funny thing about the BIAW and the enviro stuff is that most of the founders of the movement (called conservationists when it started out) were Republicans.
Hell, even a few of the founders of Earth First were Republicans.
CynicAl @23,
Oh, now that’s rich, coming from an anonymous coward like you.
Everybody knows who I am, where I live, and where I hang out every Tuesday night. What are you afraid of?
Sydney Schanberg Writes Massive Piece on John McCain Hiding ‘POW Secrets’
By Greg Mitchell
Published: September 18, 2008 5:50 PM ET
NEW YORK Sydney H. Schanberg, the longtime New York Times reporter and editor and Newsday columnist — and author of “The Killing Fields” — has written a 9000-word investigative piece on John McCain and his longstanding efforts to, as Schanberg asserts in his lede, “hide from the public stunning information about the live Vietnam prisoners who, unlike him, didn’t return home.”
Part of the piece has just gone up at The Nation web site (www.thenation.com) and will appear in its Oct. 6 issue. A full version, with graphics, appears at The Nation Institute site. Schanberg, who once doubted claims about a large number of POWs left behind in Vietnam, later wrote dozens of columns for Newsday about the subject — and McCain’s alleged inactions. Now Schanberg criticizes the press for allowing this whole subject to be swept under the rug for so long.
The new piece details the evidence that hundreds may have been left behind, along with McCain promoting federal prohibitions that keep key evidence classified. Schanberg also reveals that he received a personal briefing in 1992 from high-level CIA officials who said intelligence suggested that many men were not freed — and later executed. He raises several questions about why McCain has acted the way he has but, in any case, strongly believes that McCain owes the voter “some explanations.” He also urges reporters to “dig into” the archives and complete “the historical record.”
Now now Goldy…take a chill pill.
I know you are all upset because the stock market has made such a dramatic comeback. You LEFTIST PINHEADED KLOWNS are consistent about one thing…the desire for dreadful news.
O-blah-blah looks like a real a$$hole with the former Fannie Mae dynamic duo who are responsible for this disaster (Johnson & Raines) as his 2 top V-P candiate vetting and housing experts.
HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR! HAR!
O-blah-blah has been all about cheerleading for bad news in Iraq & the economy. That’s not leadership. Then he cozies up to 2 more crooks (Jahnson & Raines) who caused the problem.
I know good news is very upsetting to you Goldy. And I know the truth about O-blah-blah is equally upsetting. Take a deep breath. Perhaps you ought to take up golf??
Communing with nature, flailing away at a little white ball…think about it.
Funny story, I went to high school with Drew Stokesbary, and he was a dick then too. He was on the Knowledge Bowl team with me and we once got into an argument about Bush being prepared for the attacks of September 11th, to which he said, “Oh like Al Gore would have been any better. Do you realize how much worse it would have been with a JEWISH vice-president?” I was so pissed off, I ended the conversation right there. So long story short, I’m surprised people hire this joker.
Goldy,
It doesn’t even take 12 hours to prove you are a fucking idiot. Please us again why “Rob McKenna is the BIAW’s waterboy” in light of following?
Attorney General’s Office files two suits against builders groups for alleged campaign violations
OLYMPIA–The Attorney General’s Office today filed two lawsuits— one against the Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish Counties (MBA-K&S) and the other against the Building Industry Association of Washington’s Member Services Corporation (BIAW-MSC)—both for alleged violations of the state’s campaign finance disclosure law.
The suits stemmed from a citizen action letter from the law firm of Smith & Lowney received by the Attorney General’s Office on July 25, 2008. Upon receipt of the letter, the office immediately referred the case to the Public Disclosure Commission for investigation.
On Monday, Sept. 15, the PDC held a special commission meeting to hear the staff reports on the investigation. At that meeting, the commission referred both cases to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General’s Office accepted both cases, reviewed the investigations and confirmed there was sufficient evidence to file. Complaints in both cases were filed in Thurston County Superior Court today.
In the Master Builders’ case, the office agreed with the PDC’s recommendation that “evidence of the investigation supports the allegation the MBA-K&S’ “Just 10%” program failed to register and report contributions and expenditures required under state law and committed multiple apparent violations” of the states’ campaign finance disclosure law. The court assigned the MBA K&S case to Judge Gary Tabor and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 19, 2008.
In the BIAW-MSC case, the office also agreed with the commission’s recommendation that “evidence of the investigation supports “the allegation that BIAW-MSC committed multiple apparent violations” of the law “by failing to register as a political action committee and report contributions it solicited, received and retained from its local associations in 2007, and by failing to reports expenditures to ChangePAC in 2008 with the contributions received.” The court assigned the MBA K&S case to Judge Christine Pomeroy and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 19, 2008.
Both parties must respond and file answers to the complaints against them within the next 30 days.
The Attorney General’s Office is seeking civil penalties and costs of investigation and trial, including reasonable attorney’s fees, injunctive relief and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
I can just imagine that Ladenburg would be just as vigilant and impartial if the his union or tribal masters violated campaign finance laws.