Seattle businessman Brent L. Crook has donated a total of $175 to Ron Sims' re-election campaign.
That a man named Crook donated to Sims' campaign is a mildly amusing fact which by itself is neither relevant nor enlightening. Just as the hilariously selective "analysis" of campaign contributions in this morning's Seattle Times is neither relevant nor enlightening. "Minicasino owners donate to Irons' campaign".
There is no indication that Irons solicited the donations, or has supported or promised any legislation that would be favorable to the donors. He merely accepted the donations. Yawn.
The article editorializes that
Sims has a strong anti-gambling record. He proposed an ordinance in 1999 that would have prohibited minicasinos, and he was a leading opponent of last year's failed Initiative 892, which would have allowed electronic slot machines in restaurants and bars across the state.I think it would be more accurate to state that Sims opposes non-tribal gambling. However like many other Democrats, and unmentioned in the Times' article, Sims accepts plenty of campaign cash from tribes with gambling operations. Whether by coincidence or otherwise, he also works to protect the tribes' monopoly on certain forms of gambling.
A more balanced article on campaign contributions could point out all sorts of interesting things. For example, while David Irons collected less than $2,000 from King County employees, Ron Sims collected over $54,000. Could that be a kind of quid pro quo for getting raises or plum assignments? Or could it be a kind of employment insurance for the otherwise unemployable? Don't know. But either one sounds like a more important story to look into than an out-of-context report on a selective sample of one candidate's unsolicited donations.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 17, 2005 11:05 AM | Email ThisFunny, the SP ui would not let me use the word cazino in the post without using a z instead of the c.
Posted by: PW on October 17, 2005 12:53 PMI've never understood why some people think that the state and the Indian tribes should have a monopoly on cazino gambling. Either gambling is bad for our society or it is not. If it is bad, make it illegal. If it is not a problem, then open it up to the free market and let anyone who wants to, run a lottery or a cazino. Why descriminate? Someone should pin Ron Sims, David Irons, and all other politicians down on this issue and force them to give us their views in detail.
Funny, the SP ui would not let me use the word cazino in the post without using a z instead of the s.
Posted by: PW on October 17, 2005 12:57 PMBAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s electoral commission said Monday it intended to audit an “unusually high” vote count from most provinces in the country’s landmark referendum on the draft constitution.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, said its warplanes and helicopters bombed two western villages Sunday, killing an estimated 70 militants near a site where five American soldiers died in a roadside blast. Residents said at least 39 of the dead were civilians.
The electoral commission’s statement came as Sunni Arab lawmaker Meshaan al-Jubouri claimed fraud had occurred in Saturday’s election — including instances of voting in hotly contested regions by pro-constitution Shiites from other areas — repeating earlier comments made by other Sunni officials over the weekend.
Yup, sure enough. That seems to be a banned word. Interesting.
Posted by: huckleberry on October 17, 2005 02:40 PMThis sounds worthy of an audit! What are the historical averages of employee contributions to a King County executive campaign?
I think all King County employees should read their paystubs to see if they have any unauthorized *campaign* deductions to Ron Sims....
Irons and Sims are no longer neck and neck....Irons is over Sims 46% to 43%... (If Sims were leading by this margin - the media would be insisting this meant a landslide victory for Sims....sigh)
Posted by: Deborah on October 18, 2005 04:18 PMI'd like to get to the truth about this fiscally soundness claim - If the truth were known - I'd bet that Mr. Sims and his financial cohorts would be getting fitted for pinstripes or orange jump suits as they rest behind bars for monetary extortion of taxpayer money and cooking the books. This warrants an investigation by SP. Something potentially explosive that the pinheads in the local MSM have not considered investigating- that figures, but I am always open to surprises and there is still 3 weeks left.
Posted by: KS on October 18, 2005 10:20 PM