UPDATE: Although I have not yet received verification that this person is no longer Jon Russell’s campaign manager and he still remains listed on Russell’s contact page, I trust the person who informed me that he is no longer part of the campaign.
With that in mind, I have corrected the post and extend my apologies to Jon Russell and his current campaign manager. I also would hope they publicly denounce such blatant lies.
I was shocked earlier today to visit the blogsite of Jon Russell’s former campaign manager and read his screed attacking Russell’s former opponent in the 3rd Congressional District race, David Castillo.
Shocked because of stooping to outright lies in order to blast former opponent Castillo, in order to bolster support for Herrera I imagine.
Russell dropped out of the 3rd C.D. race unexpectedly a few weeks ago and threw his support behind Jaime Herrera, surprising many as at the same time, he complained how her entry in the race had taken the wind out of his sails.
Admittedly, I am not a popular person with the Russell camp or with his former campaign manager due to my opposition to his running to replace retiring Brian Baird. While I will acknowledge opposing Russell over his inexperience and questionable conduct on the Washougal City Council, I have never made up lies to oppose him.
Lies are what Democrats depend on, not Republicans.
Gary Wiram, Russell’s former campaign manager, recently relocated to our community from Los Angeles, has had his own blog site at Red County, I believe since before leaving Los Angeles and definitely before signing on with Russell’s campaign.
He has recently begun setting himself up as the spokesperson for the “vetting of candidates” being undertaken by the grassroots group, We The People. I seriously doubt he is the official spokesperson, though, as I find them to be a very honest group interested only in getting the best candidates to represent us.
Maybe that is why I was a bit curious to see him post today, “We The People” Vetting Seems To Bring Out A “Latest Version” Of The David Castillo Campaign.
Anybody who has followed David Castillo knows he has been consistent.
Reading over the “report,” I was particularly troubled to find,
“In discussion regarding National Security, Border Security and Illegal Immigration; Castillo stated his support for E-Verify. I found this to be surprising because I’d never heard him espouse this approach before. I do know that this was a strong position taken by Jon Russell, a former rival of Castillo’s. Just for clarification, I later re-checked the Castillo campaign Website and found no mention of E-Verify,”
as this is a blatant lie.
In an email exchange with David last June, I asked him directly about illegal immigration. He replied,
“The first thing we must do is secure the border. The safety of the citizenry is the paramount duty of government; therefore securing the border is priority number one. Additionally, I would consider requiring that all businesses use the E-Verify system. It is free to them and is not labor intensive. There are a lot of good ideas with regard to how best to deal with the problem of illegal immigration and I am willing to listen. However, we should not take any concrete steps until we first secure the border.”
Wiram also claims that he rechecked David’s site and found no mention of e-verify.
Looking at David’s web site I found Immigration Reform.
If you will note, “Support the SAVE Act” is prominently shown. That is reference to H.R.4088 the “Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement” act. Under the official summary we find,
“(7) expansion of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism along the northern and southern borders. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and specified maritime law sections to revise alien smuggling provisions. Sets forth provisions respecting border security on certain federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior. Border Law Enforcement Act – Authorizes a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a county within 25 miles of the southern border of the United States. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to make the basic employment eligibility confirmation pilot program permanent. Sets forth conditions for the mandatory use of the E-verify system.”
Most amazing is that Wiram has the audacity to cry about “the Castillo campaign’s recent ill-conceived robocall attack on fellow-Republican Candidate, Jaime Herrera,” which even though upsetting to some recipients, contained verified and documented truths, then would fabricate and post a blatant lie about a “fellow Republican,” as I just showed above.
Wiram ends with, “You should give this candidate your scrutiny and arrive at your own conclusions.”
I think the real scrutiny should be towards candidate’s supporters who must rely on outright lies against a candidate they don’t support and obviously harbor a personal grudge against.
Herrera must publicly distance herself from such blatant dishonesty.
We The People must also distance themselves from a member using their name to further such dishonest claims.
I would hope Jon Russell would also denounce such blatant lies from one who managed his campaign.
We in the 3rd Congressional District and voters in the 18th Legislative District deserve better.
We deserve facts in selecting candidates, not blatant lies and sour grapes from candidate’s former campaign managers.
