[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written and submitted by a verified resident. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of South King Media, nor its staff.]
A recent “article” in Seattle’s The Stranger accused Burien Deputy Mayor Kevin Schilling of being “bought and paid for” by Dean Anderson, owner of Burien Toyota, who recently donated to Schilling’s campaign for re-election.
The author of the article, Sam Mendez, did not disclose that he has donated several hundred dollars to Schilling’s opponent Patricia Hudson. Mendez also led the effort to get Hudson the sole endorsement of the 33rd LD Democrats and with the King County Democrats (who ended up endorsing Krystal Marx and Hudson.
But worse than this is the lame attempt to take the focus off of Hudson by attacking Schilling for what Hudson is actually guilty of.
One of the most organized and well-funded political operations in King County supporting radical far left candidates for elected office is the Service Employees International Union. They are running a slate of Candidates for Burien City Council this year and spending an inordinate amount of money in Burien in an attempt to turn the Burien City Council to the far left.
And the candidate Sam Mendez is pushing has revived the maximum primary donation from them.
But it doesn’t stop there. They have also donated $10,000 to an Independent Expenditure to help her win the primary. But worse than that is that Patricia is an actual employee of the SEIU. She doesn’t just get a campaign donation, she is literally on the SEIU payroll.
If anyone is being controlled by an outside entity it is Patricia Hudson.
– John White
Seahust
Patricia Hudson Responds
“Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Mr. White’s accusations. I am very proud of my 4 years “on the payroll” for SEIU775 as their Human Resources Director. I believe that their support shows confidence in my leadership and my ability to solve complex problems. Unions exist to build on the modest resources of working people, so that their collective voice can be heard, and unions regularly contribute to candidates’ campaigns.
“Mr. Mendez indeed contributed $300 to my campaign, as any other voter is welcome to do for any candidate. Interesting that Mr. White did not mention his own significant contribution to another candidate in another race, or any of the union and organizational contributions to my opponent. I encourage readers to review this information at the Public Disclosure Commission’s website.
“As far as SEIU and other unions and organizations’ contributions, I believe these direct contributions are fairly standard for any candidate they wish to support.
“By law, I have no input or knowledge into the independent expenditures. Organizations who contribute significant funds to candidates often do so because they are uncomfortable with the direction of the current governing body. I recommend that you contact the organization directly if you want to better understand why they are investing in my campaign.
“I would like to point out that there is a substantial difference between the Toyota Dealership’s contributions and those that I have already mentioned. My opponent has received the maximum donations from the owners of this business while the city considers taking potential action that the business claims would impact them negatively. This certainly has the appearance of money influencing a politician’s decisions.
“I feel confident and comfortable with the contributions that have been made to my campaign. I am aware of campaign finance laws and carefully adhere to them. I am running an above-board campaign, showing the residents of Burien why I am the best choice for Burien City Council Position 4.
“If anyone would like more information about me, please check out my website www.patricia4burien.com or contact me at patriciahudson@patricia4burien.com.”
– Patricia Hudson
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