Joel Connelly, the contumelious liberal columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has 4 people registered to vote claiming residence at his 737 sq. ft cabin on Whidbey Island.
These registered voters are: Connelly himself, Virginia Snyder, who Connelly informs me is his "master landscaper", and Ellen and David Lawsky. Connelly is an interesting case, as he might be able to argue plausibly that he's resident of either Seattle or Whidbey Island. My interpretation is that he's a Seattle resident who is claiming voting residence at his weekend home so he can vote in more competitive races, but he asserts other facts that would support his claim to a Whidbey Island residence. I'll get to this at the end of the post.
The registrations that appear to be outright fraudulent (and I don't use that word lightly here) are those of Ellen and David Lawsky. David Lawsky is a correspondent for Reuters, who relocated from the Washington, DC bureau to the Brussels bureau in 2001. Ellen Lawsky is Head of the International High School in Brussels. In a May 2004 column, Connelly described Lawsky as "a hiking buddy visiting from Washington, D.C.". Funny then, that this out of town visitor and his wife had registered to vote at Connelly's Island County cabin in October 2002 and have voted in 8 elections since, including those for local school, park and library measures. But how can they legitimately claim to be legal residents of Island County, Washington State, and not Washington, DC? As far as I can tell, they can't --
Connelly e-mailed me that
They are, however, former Seattleites who registered with the expressed intent of moving back to Washington when present assignments come to an end.A good friend, indeed. But in terms of specific legal facts that establish residency? Neither of the Lawskys possess Washington state drivers licenses, and the kicker -- they continue to own their longtime home in Washington DC where they claim the Homestead property tax credit which is available only for property owners who use the property as their principle place of residence. (See the Washington DC Real Property Assessment Database, lookup Square: 2294, Suffix: E, Lot: 0028). David Lawsky has not yet responded to my e-mail asking for a comment.
David has more than a bit of sweat equity in the place. He helped haul railroad ties used to buttress the trail system.
Clearly we have enough problems with elections in this state that we don't need out-of-staters fraudulently claiming residence here and disenfranchising bona fide residents who actually live with the results and pay the taxes. An Island County voter would do well to formerly challenge the Lawskys' registrations, and even contact law enforcement to file a complaint for criminal voter registration fraud. Contact the Island County Auditor and Prosecuting Attorney for details.
As far as Joel Connelly's residential situation -- He seems to be more of a Seattle resident than a Whidbey Island resident. The mailing address on his voter registration is at the P-I in Seattle. The mailing address on his Island County property tax bill is at a P.O. Box in Seattle. (go here lookup key 129024). Obituaries of his late partner, who passed away in 2002, describe the couple's residence along these lines:
Pailthorp and life-partner Joel Connelly shared a home in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood ... Pailthorp and Connelly also established a vacation retreat on Whidbey Island...The Whidbey Island home appears to be the vacation retreat, while when Connelly uses the words "home" and "neighborhood" in his column, he is referring to Madrona. When he purchased the Madrona home from his late partner's estate, he listed his Seattle address, not his Whidbey Island address, on the excise tax affidavit. His column of September 22, 2003 explains exactly what he's doing:
After years of being ignored by McDermott as a Seattle voter, I switched registration to Whidbey Island: The competitive 2nd District was a resident's tonicNot that he moved his residence, but that he "switched registration" (in 1996). Wouldn't we all like to switch registration so we can vote in a competitive district? Unfortunately, we don't all own weekend homes.
I asked Connelly for comment, and his replies are here and here. He seems pretty defensive, accusing me of trying to "ratfuck" him, whatever that means. The evidence suggests to me that he's more of a Seattle resident than a Whidbey Island resident, but that it's not a slam dunk either way. Frankly, I hope that an Island County resident challenges Connelly's registration and that Connelly prevails, so as to set a precedent. I too hope to get a weekend home outside of Seattle at some point and I'd like there to be clear case law that would enable me to legally register and vote at a weekend home, so I can participate in competitive Congressional and legislative elections. If any Island County resident, who would prefer that weekend residents from Seattle do not vote in local elections, wants to challenge Connelly's registration, let me know. I can point you to more public records that would strengthen the argument that his legal residence is in Seattle.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at April 10, 2006 01:27 PM | Email ThisSince Cornholey is the same size as 4 normal people, he gets 4 voters in his little shed!!!!
Posted by: Mr. Cynical on April 10, 2006 01:57 PM"Only Republicans and rat-effers follow the rules" - Joel Connelly
Posted by: CommonCents on April 10, 2006 02:11 PMThe bigger story here is Joel's response & attitude. How in the world can he feel it is justifiable to register to vote from your vacation home? And how can he justify these folks traveling abroad and picking his place to register and vote in local elections?
And does this Ginny Snyder live with him?
He says she is his master gardener...but where does she actually reside?
Joel Connelly has made a career out of poking fun and attacking folks he disagrees with politically. Now that he is on the hotseat, he uses words like "ratf*ck".
My, oh my....kind of "thin-skinned" isn't he!!!
I went so far as to ask the auditor's staffperson where and if I could claim my weekend retreat as my primary address. Her reply was a stern response, "you know where you live". I asked what criteria there was to primary residence, etc. and came away that I had to use my west side address, not the Chelan County address.
I asked if anyone would check on me and I got the impression that no one would.
My dilemma was then, "do I pay less taxes but have a guilty conscience or I more taxes?" I am just a glutton for punishment so I kept my western Washington address.
Apparently, Joel did the opposite.
Posted by: swatter on April 10, 2006 02:19 PMHe may be able to get by with having his cabin as his home address, but the Lawsky's situation appears to be quite different. And who knows where his master gardener really lives.
Posted by: Gary on April 10, 2006 02:31 PMGo get 'em!
Posted by: Erik on April 10, 2006 02:44 PMThe only thing I'm shocked about is that his alibi is so pathetic. He had to know that someone some day was going to ask about why 4 people were registered at his vacation residence. Oh how convienient - 2 of them have residences in another state - and one is his "master" gardener. Who has their garderner register at their house? Whats up with that weirdness? This stinks!
Is he that RatF*cking stupid? Or just RatF*cking sick in the head hoping he'd get caught.
Posted by: thecomputerguy on April 10, 2006 03:01 PMAnd somehow I'm thinking that Connelly was claiming to be christian at some point. SO why is he using words like "R_tf__k"? Hey Joel, it's not too late to change your language! You can do it!
Posted by: Misty on April 10, 2006 03:11 PMIt is too bad we hold such antiquanted concepts as voting where you live. I could give a rats a$$ if JC went to "Church" on W.I. yesterday...
cheater cheater cheater
If you live in Brussels too damn bad you don't vote for a bond. You get to vote for President that is it! If your a master garderner well surely you can register correctly unless you garden what your smokin'.
Joel tell me how tough that commute is from Whidbey everyday?
Glass Repair needed by Joel Connelly.
Congrats to the new main stream press....I know Joel accountability is a tough thing. For years and years and years these jackboot hacks with their newspapers have bent our towns around. It is good to see the pipe cleaners going after the mold inside their walls.
Them dang mail ballots should not leave the county they are for period and if they do instantly all the local issues fall off-it winds up in Joel's PI desk and bingo he can only vote for Cantwell unless he pedals his butt to a W.I. address...they leave the state and only the president is on the ballot.
Posted by: Col. Hogan on April 10, 2006 03:39 PMIntentions matter facts do not-feelings matter facts do not...hauling railroad ties matters more than YOUR VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT justifies EVERYTHING Feelings of Joel matter more than the consequences WE PAY. Feelings of “Joel People” like Sam Reed, like the Trolls of SP, Feelings of Deanron matter more than your costs, Feelings of Bob Sideshow Terwilliger MATTER MORE Than the effects.
Dang it I am a current Seattleite stuck with a whore of a governor who knowingly broke the laws and who knowingly must run from that everyday and everyday we pay for this Joel. She Has Feelings perverted by all the little Joel Connelly’s perverting the systems for years and years....how perverted is it going to get Joel? How can the Queen act with a straight heart or You Joel?...Look at you guys the things you say....Ratfu***...radio stations out to get me and my dog...Joel et. al. defend the impossible but you need more previsions, more confusion, more insanity, more rule bending to cover your own tracks....you hate the military and then haul out a general to defend you....you go to a church where God himself is claimed to agree with the previsions that the Episcopalians make up.....
Joel quit it, quit rat-effin us Joel we cannot build a future like this. How can we???
This is not a D or R thing...somehow the whole SP thing is born of this conflict far bewond the stolen election and far beyond all the JC's cheating the system. It is born of the very rock of civilization having the acid of destruction dripped upon it daily. A nagging sense that this direction is a culture of death, a culture of stnech a culture of ending everything. So JC join us in shaping it up! The light is upon you!
It's now much easier for me to see why people who think and write like Joel Connelly always appear to be coming from some alternate reality much different than our own.
It's great to see those like Connelly with their arrogant myopic hauteur get a little spoonful of the real world where most of us spend our time.
Hopefully there will be some prosecution and plenty of other legal showiness to dissuade others who, like Connelly, view themselves as above the rest of us, and above the law.
Posted by: Jeff B. on April 10, 2006 04:22 PMJoel Connelly registered in Island County on September 26, 1996. But he has been a Seattle P-I staffer for 28 years.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/
Presumably, Connelly was registered to vote in King County prior to September 1996. Why did he change his voter registration residence to Island County all of a sudden?
November 5, 1996 election results
REGIONAL MEASURE Proposition 1 . Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, 10-year regional transit plan.
X Yes 415,069 (58%) No 301,441 (42%) .
This measure authorized a 0.3% Motor Vehicle Excise Tax for most of King County and large parts of Pierce and Snohomish Counties. It would have been extremely predictable for this measure to pass.
WHERE HAS JOEL CONNELLY BEEN REGISTERING HIS VEHICLES FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS?
And don't forget the Seattle Monorail 1.4% MVET that became effective in 2001 or 2002, if I am not mistaken.
In the past year or two, one now has to declare under penalty of perjury on the vehicle license application that the address is where they really live.
If Connelly has been registering his vehicles in Island County, he has probably evaded hundreds (if not thousands) of RTA and Monorail MVET taxes by now. He would also avoid having to have his vehicles inspected for emissions.
Please forgive the OT post, but you guys have better access to the right resources...
What do you guys know about:
Burner, Darcy Gibbons (Defendant)
King County District Court
Case #IS0112494
File Date: 06/15/2005
Is it a simple infraction?
Or is it a criminal issue?
DUI?
Who is "T. Boe" and what does s/he have to do with the case? Police officer?
If it is a simple thing, why is the case still open?
Posted by: (The Real) Mark on April 10, 2006 05:16 PMhttp://soundpolitics.com/BurnerTicket.pdf
Perhaps you could "Goldify" it and say something like:
Just call her Darcy "Burn Rubber" Burner
or
Burner endangers public with reckless disregard for traffic law
or
Darcy Burner breaks law in 2005. Case still open...
or
Lawbreaker Burner... did she resist arrest or strike an officer over traffic ticket??!! {guess not, but we thought we'd just throw that out there and see if it stuck)
Posted by: (The Real) Mark on April 10, 2006 05:31 PMAre you suggesting that those in the military stationed overseas should only be allowed to cast votes in presidential elections?
Posted by: eric on April 10, 2006 06:30 PMSomeone else asks the very interesting question...."WHERE HAS JOEL CONNELLY BEEN REGISTERING HIS VEHICLES FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS?"
Wouldn't it be interesting to learn that "red & green " Joel has been skipping out on vehicle emissions tests and sound transit taxes while tell us we should all pay more in our taxes? I'll wager he feels as a liberal he is above the law, just like the Clintons, our current resident of the Governor's mansion, and Marie Can't-Vote-Well who got in financial trouble with the Fed Elections Commission on her first Senate campaign. Ah, yes Democrats the party of real corruption.
Posted by: Bob on April 10, 2006 06:59 PMMaybe you should contact his pastor and have him explain how you "ratf#!k" somebody? I kind of doubt that you will find that definition in St Augistine in the Woods Episcopal Church?
Posted by: Shannon Barnett on April 10, 2006 07:48 PMNote--I'm not as likely to gun down Connelly, but the other three are definitely fair game, especially the husband and wife team who are claiming a homestead exemption in Washington, DC.
Posted by: timekeeper on April 10, 2006 07:59 PMAs for the Lawsky's they should be in deep rat shi* for having registered and voting in a place they don't even pretend to reside in. And Joel C. dismisses it as, "well they intend to retire here." SO WHAT? Everyone who "intends to retire here" or helps on a weekend garden project gets a free vote in OUR ELECTIONS?!!! GIVE ME A BREAK. Better still give these folks a court date to prove their guilt.
Posted by: Banshee on April 10, 2006 08:05 PMWe ain't leaving. The light will be shined under the rocks where you and your ilk like to hide.
So you get over it!
Posted by: No You Get Over It on April 10, 2006 10:26 PMI think the IRS needs to check on his living arrangements!
Posted by: Deborah on April 10, 2006 10:44 PMKing County is a Democratic leaning county with a good chunk of the WA State population.
There are a lot of Republican leaning counties out here -- I live outside of Bellingham and in 2004, there was a very sharp line of demarcation between the Kerry and the Bush signs. (With lots of Bush signs vandalized but no Kerry signs were damaged - a matter of respecting one's opponent.)
We may not hold the numbers but we do not tolerate bullshit.
The Democrats look at governance as a war between the sheep and the wolves. They are blind to the fact that there are a lot of sheepdogs out there doing wonderful work...
Posted by: DaveH on April 10, 2006 11:36 PMIf someone does not do as Stefan suggests and go after this guy and his friends then it doesn't. Talk is talk. Until there is action its nothing.
If someone does more than talk and the officials in charge do nothing it still doesn't matter. Talk is talk. Until there is action its nothing.
I'm so tired of all this crap. We all know this place is F'd up but nothing changes so what's the point of getting ulcers over it anymore?
You can point out the dog crap in your path but if you step in it anyway what good did it do to point it out?
Posted by: Tired of the fight on April 11, 2006 05:17 AMAvoiding emissions, ST tax, Monorail tax. sure would love to out him on that. My source for such things retired, but if anyone has the resourse to check.......
And isn't that under penalty of law a felony with a $10K fine for lying on your addy for car registration?
Another lib idea, with a penalty well in line with the offense, methinks.
The Geezer
Posted by: The Geezer on April 11, 2006 06:17 AMStefan, in your next email to Joel, could you ask him to provide a diagram or other visual aides to help us understand his delighful term?
I'd love to see him respond in that community newpaper he writes for - but I hear they've fallen on financial difficulties. Does anybody know if they still sell the P.I in Seattle?
Posted by: Confused on April 11, 2006 11:40 AMAnyhow, Connelly seems like a bizaare target for these attacks. I mean, who cares? Let's not spin our wheels.
Posted by: Don Taylor on April 11, 2006 05:02 PMIn addition, as someone who's presumably made a career out of asking tough questions and digging for answers from any number of public officials, you'd think he could stand the heat in the kitchen. But I should have remembered that the media is above reproach, right? Hmph! ;) If only there was an emoticon for a snotty, stuck-up expression. Connelly could wear it out...
Posted by: Sid on April 12, 2006 07:44 AMExcuse me, "Mr. Taylor," but election fraud is an important public policy issue and the confidence of our electorate in the sanctity of the ballot box is essential to our system of government, especially after the King County FIASCO that was the 2004 election of "Governor" Chris Fraudoire. Is it any wonder that Joel C. didn't think voter fraud is an important concern, and didn't adequately cover it in election reporting, as he tries to justify registration fraud on his very own property???
Also, just what does Joel C. do with the ballots that arrive at his "residence" on Whidbey? Does he forward Lawsky's ballots to their residence on the east coast so they can vote in OUR local and state elections? Does Joel C. put his own stamps on the envelope and become complicit in a possible federal crime as well as state law violation? It would be very interesting to have him in a deposition to answer the questions so apparent in this matter. Or maybe Joel C. would be so kind and forthright to send another email to this blog to answer the questions.
Oh, that's right, no problem here, nothing to see, move along now...
I'm currently in Maryland doing contract aircraft work, maintain my legal residence in the Puget Sound region, have an apartment here and bought a car out here. Can't register the car here unless I'm a legal resident, which means turning in my Washington State DL for a Maryland DL. Not happening, I'll be coming back in a few months, so the vehicle is licensed in Washington state (and sales taxes and fees paid to Washington State at the higher rate there), even if I decide to sell it before I return and it never makes a tread-mark in WA State.
Wash DC, Virginia, etc. are all the same.
I pay income taxes in Maryland as a non-resident filer for income earned here (of course, if the Lawsky's earn income out of the country they may not pay income tax - depending - but they do have to file at some point, and thusly establish their residence for the period. If it's overseas *then they aren't Washington State residents and can't vote there*)
So there's lots of ways to check what they consider their residence status. Drivers License is prime, however. You do not have to surrender your state license to get and use an international license overseas, but if you do, then you no longer claim state residency, conversely if you keep it you still need to renew it, at least post hoc when you return, to claim residency for the absense period.
You don't need a driver's license to be a resident, but if you have one, where you have it *is your legal residence for voting purposes* .
So, either Joel committed fraud by voting the Lawsky's ballots, or the Lawsky's committed fraud by voting when they weren't residents.
Be interesting to see how good of friends they really are when faced with the choice between them of deciding who committed fraud.
-Steeley
Posted by: Steeley on April 22, 2006 07:53 AM