WHAT HYPOCRISY!!
click on the title of this post to see Sawant’s top contributors.
This site, “runforthemoney.com,” officially not affiliated with the Sawant Campaign, is charging Pam Banks of taking contributions from evil, nasty businesses.
Some of their examples include:
- Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air Group
- Howard Behar, former Starbucks executive
- Tamara Murphy, owner of Terra Plata, local Capital Hill restaurant, and prominent member of the LTGB community.
- Eli Lilly & Company, the multi-billion-dollar national pharmaceutical company which opposes many measures to make healthcare more affordable.
- Angela Stowell & Ethan Stowell, proprietors of Ethan Stowell Restaurants, again a big part of the small business scene on Capitol Hill.
- John Goodman, of Goodman Real Estate, who also own what the site calls “a” private marina. That site is a marina for large yachts and commercial development just south of Rays’s Boat House. Ecept ofr Sjilshole, Fisherman’s Terminal and Bell Harbor ALL other Seattle marinas are also private.
- Vulcan, Inc., two major local developers. Vulcan is owned by Paul Allen, the 26th richest person in the world. Allen is also the money behind the non profits: The $4 billion dollar Allen Institutes for brain and cancer institutes, the UW Computer Sciences, and the Experience Music Projects.
For the Record, the runforthemoney numbers are not true:
The “$140,00” supposedly given to Banks by wealthy individuals (CEOs,landlords, and business sources) is made up. I totaled all the contributions from individuals associated with large corporations, law firms, realtors, or investment groups to either campaign (excluding unions and associations). Pam Banks’ maxed contributions totaled $62,400. Sawant’s individual contributions were much lower, at $21,300. The most notable difference between the maxed contributors is that Sawant has a lot of money from Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing while Banks’ big givers do include realtors and developers. Both get money from lawyers.
Of course all but 18% of Sawants’s contributors come from out of state, especially large unions and “socialist” activists.
Sawant’s contributors have their own “capitalist” issues ..
The list includes numerous contributors from Amazon, Microsoft, large law firms, and Boeing. Moreover, it is odd that so many of these folks, joining the 82% of her contributors who do not live in District 3 or have businesses here, have companies everywhere from Germany to South Carolina.
Who pays for this site?
An even bigger issue is this site itself. Like a large part of Sawant’s support, “Run for the Money” is not ‘on the books’ … that is exactly the same tactic used by the Koch Brothers to spend a billion dollars on the upcoming 2016 election. PACs like the sponsor of this site, “Working Washington” are exempt from reporting requirement to the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission and have NO limits on the amount of money they can raise.
A huge part of Sawant’s support comes from unions that were recruited because of her support for the $15 wage. In full truth, I also voted for Sawant because of that great crusade. I would hope. however, the unions would now be less enthusiastic about such bizarre ideas as placing $150,000 tax on purchase of a starter home in Seattle and the proposal she now has to recreate housing projects for poor people in Seattle. Aside from the obvious issue that such projects breed racism gangs and drugs, she wants to build “10,000 such housing units a year” … costing at least $3,000,000.00 PER YEAR! The idea that this is going to make jobs for union workers is comical. Even more funny is Sawant’s claims she is going to pay for this with a millionaire tax! Good luck with that!
The result of this off the books, out of Seattle support is that Sawant’s fund raising has a huge advantage over Banks, whose funding is almost entirely from within Seattle and 50% within her own District. One estimate I have heard says that Sawant may well have over 300,000 in these dollars off the books.
Not only is the graphic designed to inflame people prone to fall for red baiting, but calling individuals corporate because of their employers’ name is misleading unless you can show they are principals. You really think Microsoft or Skanska support Sawant? lol
The two names I recognize: Mike Withey has been a leftist, anti-corporatist lawyer in Seattle for decades. Calling him corporate is absurd. Same with David Goldstein (“Goldy”)
Hmm MY graphic??
All it does is follow on to Sawant’s own rhetoric.
SHE calls herself a Trotskyite and follow up with calls to turn Boeing over to the workers and “Tax the Rich.” She also shows up with cadres of red shirted followers, refuses to meet with the small businesses (perhaps because they aree kulaks?) and castigates Pam Banks as being a tool of the capitalists.
As for Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Skanska … of course I don’t demonize folks for working there BUT IT IS EXACTLY what runforthemoney.com does in coming up with their claim that Pam Banks has gotten “$140,000 from CEOs, landlords, and ‘business sources.'” Even using guilt by association, Banks has obviously not gotten that kind of money.
As for Goldy, ..errr ahhhh, HE WORKS FULL TIME FOR A SCION OF A WEALTHY SCION OF A WEALTHY SEATTLE FAMILY .. Nick Hanauer. Nick made a billion (or so) largely as an investor in Amazon. Obviously, as someone who spends a lot of time with Goldstein, I do not consider him a corporate tool, but Sawant has decided that working for money is a basis for demonization for everyone who owns a boat, works for Eli Lilly, owns a restaurant, etc.
BTW, hows it that Sawant is refusing to be interviewed by Erica Barnett? Do you suppose that Ms S is afraid that Erica might ask what sort of tax on the rich would pay for the nutty plan to build 10,000 apartments per year? That is $3 billion per year!