City Szwaja Appeals Ruling in Complaint Against Godden
posted by on October 30 at 11:24 AM
The Joe Szwaja campaign (“Say hiya to Joe Szwaja!”) has filed a complaint (PDF) against Jean Godden, alleging that the one-term council member has scheduled campaign events and strategy sessions using city staff and on city time. The city’s ethics and elections director, Wayne Barnett, dismissed the complaint earlier this month, but the Szwaja campaign has filed an appeal, meaning it will eventually be heard by the entire ethics board.
According to the complaint, Godden’s official city calendar listed 87 hours of campaign events, 20 of which took place during regular business hours. Much of the scheduled time Szwaja disputes consisted of meetings during office hours with Godden’s campaign fund raiser, McKenna Hartman, and of mostly after-work campaign fundraisers and forums. “You can tell a lot about a person by their schedule, and her schedule does not reveal a person who’s working for average people,” Szwaja says. “I don’t think we should be paying people to keep track of her campaign schedule or her fundraising.”
Godden’s staff dismisses that claim as nonsense, and Barnett says he investigated the complaint and found no evidence of violations. “You can’t campaign from your city office, but you can put [campaign events] on your city calendar” to avoid double-scheduling, Barnett says. “I didn’t see anything in there that led me to believe she was doing anything more than that.” In his letter dismissing the complaint, Barnett wrote, “Our office has reviewed the documents you provided us with and can find no evidence that would suggest that Councilmember Godden’s City staff is performing campaign scheduling for the Councilmember.” According to Godden’s staff, her scheduler periodically sends a copy of her schedule to the campaign; the campaign schedules campaign events around city business; and the campaign sends the completed schedule back to the city.
The next meeting of the Ethics and Elections Commission is scheduled for November 7, one day after the election.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
joe is the wife beater, past record of, whose campaign has no traction
sad - he thinks this is an issue of merit
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=17055
Hey, ECB, what happened to you guys at The Stranger? Everything is forgotten four years later? I can understand why Josh might forget, but I don't understand how you could.
First off, the Szwaja campaign did not file an ethics complaint, nor did we appeal the complaint. At best, to be factually correct, a Green Party member who volunteers for the campaign, filed the complaint and appealled the complaint.
Instead of a quick and factually incorrect slog posting of the ethics complaint, it would behoove readers to read the following articles:
The Paper Noose
As to Joe’s arrest from almost 20 years ago, no one in the campaign, not myself, not Joe, and none of our supporters have denied the charge. Joe continues to take full accountability for that incident, time and time again. He has never denied it. That is what personal accountability is all about.
The continued misrepresentation of a single incident from a person’s life, from years ago is slimy. Especially turning a single event into the continued slanderous label of "wife beater". I happen to know Joe’s actaul wife of the past 8 years, his mother-in-law who lives with Joe, and have met many former students. Not a single person who knows Joe thinks he is a violent person.
But anonymous trolls on blogs have a habit of distorting the truth. I really wish the Stranger would give some thought to looking up the IP addresses to see, just maybe, if all these trolls are from one source.
Jean’s whole campaign is based on attacking Joe’s character, and not on issues. Ask yourself why? It’s exactly the same way she campaigned last time against Judy Nicastro. Create a story in the media, turn it into a scandal.
Joe Szwaja has won human rights awards, teacher awards, and been active in so many different ways around Seattle that I can’t even begin to list them. Call him names all you want. Seriously. Go right ahead. Win loose or draw, Joe Szwaja will continue to be a great addition to Seattle, will continue to fight for progressive causes, and will continue to be a loving husband, son, and father.
Oh, and if you want to read the complaint and Jean's official calendar here:
All the Documents on Jean Goddens Ethics complaint
It's not just coordinating campaign events, it's specifically coordinating with the campaign, tracking where Carlo Davis her manager is, as well as tracking where Cathy Allen, of the Connections group is... seriously just read it for yourself. It's amazing.
But don't take my word on this issue, or Erica's, or these anonymous trolls, simply go read Jean's Calendar yourself. It's all there in black and white.
The appeal contends that city staff exceeded the scope of a 2005 letter sent out by Wayne Barnett SEEC executive director by repeatedly arranging specific details relating to the campaign including fundraising and scheduling events. This is a serious election violation.
RESPONSE TO DISMISSAL
Filed by
David Coons
Where as the simple act of placing an event on the city calendar falls under the provisions of the April 2005 letter sent out by Wayne Barnett SEEC executive director. The additional notations on the calendar (such as the coming and goings of Carlo Davis ,campaign manager ,Cathy Allen , political advisor and Mckenna Hartmen ,campaign fundraiser and other items such as the status of fundraising calling relating to the Godden campaign do not fall into the two catagories laid out in the April 2005 letter. (To prevent double booking and to be sure she can be reached.) Such appointments and arrangements appear on her calendar during the period from January 1, 2007, through August 29, 2007, a total of at least 58 times. See link on gentrys post for the details of these entries. In fact on Feburary 6th CM Goddens staff did double book her with a campaign event and she failed to attend a budget meeting in order to attend the campaign event. The primary beneficiary of these notations are clearly the reelection campaign. They do not benefit the city in any way and show that city staff are coordinating with the campaign beyond the stated purpose of the 2005 letter.
Plans are being laid for possible court action in this matter. This complaint was crafted with legal council and legal council has reviewed the dismissal. The word from them is a violation has indeed occurred and the dismissal will not hold up in a court of law. Other civic leaders and legal council are reviewing the matter as I write this and some have already shown support for pursuing this blatant violation. Furthermore the letter sent out in 2005 needs to be scrutinized for its language that opens the door for these types of violations.
Note to Szwaja campaign: Godden is a blithering idiot, banal and incoherent. There is no way I would not have voted for Joe had I not heard your bogus attack ads. Now I'll have to reconsider. Next time, just play some of Godden's moronic public pronouncements and let the voters hear how pathetic she is.
It's amazing to me that no one complains about how the Godden campaign has done nothing but go negative, yet we point out exactly what she's been up to according to her own official city calendar, and somehow that's a bad thing.
I agree with your generally thoughts on Godden, butterw, but there's nothing bogus about the ad. It's all from her own calendar. Nice though how the complaint won't be heard until after the election.
This one will go in the "props to ECB" file for covering something that for some reason, no one else will touch.
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