Comments on Burgess's Evangelism

If Burgess has no regrets taking money from these folks, he may have no regrets selling his Council vote either.

the time you are wasting on this guy is MADDENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EITHER ENDORSE HIM OR DON'T, BUT SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY OH MY GOD

ECB- Didn't you mention this client in your orginal post weeks ago? Admit it, you have an axe to grind with Burgess. If you can't admit it stop rehashing the same stuff that has already been covered. Geesh!

Without drawing too fine a line...

Wasn't Burgess' firm involved in making money performing PR functions. Wasn't this work, however discouraging and phony, contracted work to his firm?

Does the Stranger business office review the creed and philosophy of every organization placing an ad? Does the Stranger even support the concept of some of the ads? Does it even matter? The Stranger is a newspaper which makes its money by printing advertisements. Burgess' firm made money be running campaigns for organizations.

I'm sorry, I don't see an issue here unless he's indicated he wants to push an abstinence program as part of his councilmanic duties.

Burgess-Della....Burgess-Della....Jesus Fuck, enough already.

Does anyone know if Szwaja has a snowball's chance of beating Godden? Anyone? Anyone??

Wow, sounds like a real winner. First there was the CWA thing, now I find out about his business with these bible-thumping abstinence twats - wtf, man? I despise political races like this one, races with two bad choices. Can I just write you in on the ballot, ECB?

Between 2000 and 2003 = five years?

And aren't the contentious statements from the organization coming in 2005, two years AFTER the company stopped working with them, two years after Burgess worked with them?

Is this trying to drum up drama in a slow race, or just shoddy journalism. Shock! Horror! Transit!

Isn't a PR firm doing work for awful companies somewhat analogous to an alt-weekly running advertisements for tobacco companies?

The dead horse is starting to smell.

He's still better qualified than David Della.

@10 hardly a high standard

Yuck, this guy gets worse and worse. I can handle diagreeing with candidates on a lot of issues and policies, but his values are not lining up with mine.

As for the criticisms that this isn't newsworthy, I totally disagree. This story tells me more about the candidate then a list how he would vote on various city council issues, thats for sure.

@4 - I don't know, personally I feel like just plopping an ad for a despicable company/service on a page in a newspaper is pretty benign compared to making huge investments of physical and intellectual resources in the Active Promotion of organizations whose stated goals I find to be deplorable.

@4:

On his website, Burgess takes credit for raising money for a number of social-service and enviro organizations - which he did for pay, just like he worked for Concerned Women for America and Food for the Hungry. If he wants political credit for some of his business deals, he should also take the blame for the deals he made with Christian Right lunatics. Only fair, right?

Burgess - yuk.

Della - yuk.

Anyone have any good suggestions for a write-in candidate? 'Cause neither of these asswipes are getting my vote.

I think that these revelations are not only worthy of consideration, they paint a startling picture of Burgess. Thanks for investigating this.

Burgess says he's progressive, but none of his actions, when subjected to the slightest scrutiny, support that claim. In fact, his actions, positions, donations, and representations all suggest that Burgess is not what he says he is, and is only saying he's "progressive" in order to get elected.

Has anyone checked to see if his fingers are crossed when he says it?

More importantly, has anyone investigated his time as a cop? Everything else he's told about his past has been unreliable, or has required massive backpedaling.

@5: Joe's going down, bigtime.

@15 - I totally agree. I nominate Steve Pool for the write-in vote.

I agree with SDA in SEA at #15. I need a good write-in candidate!

And that's now 18.

But no, it's not an obsession. Nope. Tossing around two day old allegations from the P-I's political blog and candidates bloviating at union reps, that's reporting.

Where they stand on the issues? That's not important. Oh look! Della's not wearing any underwear under his Utilikilt!!!

Meanwhile, in Della-land, there's about to be a credible accusation that he abused his public office for political gain:


http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/123482.asp


You may now resume worrying about whether Tim Burgess should have allowed his business partner to take on clients with conservative viewpoints at the firm they co-owned. Nothing to see here...

to #5, and the WORLD - The wrinkly old dame named Godden will take her wife beating opponent by twenty - yes, 20 - points.

Joe, give it up. Go have coffee with McIver about spousal abuse.

Rumor on the street is that clever like a fox Godden will work closely with Della and Licata to kick some butt in the cop shop.

Go Jean Godden, and to hell with the sexist frat boy twits who often post here.

@21

Burgess cannot simultaneously tout his business ownership as a qualification for office, then hide behind his partner's skirt whenever there's an incovenient truth revealed about said business.

The organizations Burgess represented have hurt America by advancing a dangerous and bullshit world view. Lives are at stake when you spread the notion here and abroad that condoms don't work.

@21: That's the same story we were talking about yesterday. You're right: Nothing to see here.

Is all the angst a dislike for politics or from the Burgess gang feeling the heat?

In any case, this is the the most interesting stuff on Slog. Oh, forgot the upcoming story about Spears public hairs. Or stuffing out of favor singers' vaginas' with their panties, really deep.(read it yesterday from Adrian)

Politics is life, the twits will understand when in the coming fascist America they get put in camps. Go back to MTV time if the politics bore you, silly billies.

And there are people out there who think Burgess is progressive? You folks are easy marks, you all have been had by the PR machine.

Working hate mail against people with AIDS and gay folks and then mis information to kids about sex and condoms.

This guy is beyond slime and scum. Those abstinence campaigns invite pregnancy and death from HIV. But Burgess takes the money to the bank.

Yes, I will vote for Della, gladly.

clearly Burgess is far too communitarian for my taste, anti-strip club, too evangelical. But an empty suit like Della can be just as dangerous. Della seems to take the route of least resistance taking political expediency over principled progressive stands, and the easy committees over the important and campaigned on purpose

I'm just waiting for an equally as insipid and pathetic of an article about how Burgess knows someone that likes to kick puppies, or how he once worked with a guy that told children that there was no Santa Claus.

If Burgess was doing this as a volunteer or a paid employee of this charity, then one might have an issue. But he is *not* a representative of these groups, and as someone pointed out above, I highly doubt that The Stranger reviews all of the advertising received to see if it fits in completely with a pseudo-progressive hipster agenda.

This series of articles has merely reinforced my opinion that civil public discourse about real issues in Seattle is secondary to fear mongering. What absolute garbage.

This reminds me of Bush/Kerry, where it wasn't so much about voting for Kerry as it was voting against Bush, and as a result Kerry lost because people hate mudslinging AND Kerry had done little to establish himself as a legit candidate.

Likewise, this is a tacit endorsement for David Della, but since Burgess is popular, people hate mudslinging, and Della has the credibility of burnt toast, I think these articles are doing nothing to promote a Della vote and are only cementing the likelihood that Burgess will take Della's seat in November. In other words, while uncovering all of this stuff is valid, I'm not sure anyone's going to care on Election Day.

Also, the Top Two primary sucks, and this sort of shit is why, but you knew that.

I don't want to give away the surprise, but Burgess' firm worked for many groups whom you’ll find reprehensible. The specialized in PR work for non-profits during a very religious and very Republican administration.

His firm also represented some very progressive non-profits who continue to do important work in the world.

The Stranger is right to continue publishing these stories. The electorate has ever right to know about a candidate's past.

Burgess has never tried to hide from the work he's done. He regularly answers questions on the subject from just about anyone who asks.

ECB -- How is the horse-race going? Who is spending the most money? Who is raising the most money?

Oh yeah:

Della -- bad
Burgess -- good

repeat

@28 -- Burgess and Della didn't compete in the primary. They were the only two candidates in this race.

I'm going to take a chance on the unknown Tim Burgess over the known and useless David Della. Della's had his four years and not a great deal of effectiveness. If Burgess wins and we don't like him either, we can kick his hindquarters out at the next election. Why do we continually reward mediocre performance? It only encourages the mediocre to run.

You say Burgess had no regrets. I'm assuming he said more on the subject, why not share his reasoning?

Abstinence Only is a Bush Administration policy, not the fault of Burgess.

In Africa, with an aids epidemic giving the genocide in Iraq a run for its money, Burgess’s pr firm is promoting Biblical horse shit, and discouraging the use of condoms. Oh, but he is doing this as a job, as a way to make money, so we should all just give him some slack. You scat eating, liberal Christian, Democrats. A hard rain is going to fall.

Confusing post. You say Burgess made his money off Food for the Hungry from 2000 - 2003. Then they got the abstinence grant in 2005. How is this related to his work?

Just askin'

Just had a brilliant insight -

Abstinence -

use it for the council vote - Don't vote for Della, ineffective, and Don't vote for Burgess, reprehensible past.

Score one for Abstaining. Let the diehard fans of each slug it out - maybe the total vote count for that position will be less than a thousand.

Ms. Erica and the Stranger very quiet about the McIver arrest. Hmmmmmmmm?

30. At the same time, it's likely no one ran for that seat because they knew that, given Della/Burgess' warchests and relative popularity, they didn't stand a chance of surviving a primary.

Erica,
Do you do business with a company that accepts money from the tobacco industry?

Rock, glass house.

OH MAN! Let....... it..... go.....please!

Burgess isn't wandering around threatening the public safety unions that they'll be in for trouble if they endorse his opponent.
Burgess isn't the jackass that you want him to be. He's publicly come out in favor of issues that you support. Five years ago I supported civil unions not gay marriage. Now I support gay marriage because it's just the right damn thing to do. A lot can change in five years!

There is no THERE there.

ECB -- Did you just find out about this? Is there a new news hook to hang it from?

You're right - he worked for them until 2005. However, I was only able to get IRS documents to confirm how much they paid him through 2003.

Flash-Flash -- All candidates except Della said they did not think the city made a "good faith effort" to keep the Sonics in Seattle

FROM THE PI - FORUM QUOTES - IT MEANS BURGESS WANTS TO KEEP THE SONICS AND NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH

BIG MONEY IN BIG BILLS IN TAN ENVELOPES SPEAKS TO THIS GUY. Working for the common folks, Della will be waving good bye before the city caves and spends our millions on a new Sonics stadium.

Good lead Erica, go for it.

What color envelopes do Susie Burke, Vulcan, Gogerty Stark, Muckleshoot, etc. use when their speaking to your guy, Adam?

He's not the union organizer he once was. You're supporting a memory, not a council member.