Progressive local media members recently broke the “news” that Republican-leaning staffers and political consultants are intersecting in local, state and national campaigns. Sometimes they can even help each other figure things out, like making suggestions on how to improve a piece of writing. And while it’s admitted that Democrats also network and collaborate, it’s somehow sinister when the GOP team does.
Of course, people with common political interests talk to each other. Of course, they tap into common pools of talent, just like managers in any occupation. Breathless breaking news about the silken threads of a dark web of national politics entangling local politicians is an unhappy turn.
One columnist painted Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers lurking at the center of a well-oiled political machine, quietly pulling strings to support Mayor Nadine Woodward in her re-election campaign. It was quite a partisan perspective. Or as Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, describes it, “Shawn Vestal should be registered as an in-kind contributor to Lisa Brown’s campaign for mayor.”
The silliest evidence of this dark web was reported by the Inlander. A college student who worked part-time posting on social media for two campaigns accidentally posted a tweet for McMorris Rodgers on Woodward’s account, then quickly fixed it. It’s the equivalent of a waitress mixing up a lunch order on a split ticket at the Onion. The story was a hamburger.
But there is another political argument circulating in the local media with a little more meat.
This week, I was sent several batches of emails from a public records request to the City of Spokane. In 2020-22, mayoral candidate Brown’s husband, Brian McClatchey, was clearly networking with his wife in her position as policy advisor to the City of Spokane and her position as director of the Dept. of Commerce, manager of state money available for cities. Many local Democrats were included in the meeting threads he set up. And why not cc the head of Commerce to keep a state official abreast of the local situation? It seems like an efficient way to cut red tape.
Or it could be described as the operation of a statewide Democratic political machine that ties local politics to a governor who likes to hold power from his tower in Olympia, using state money to influence the narrative around his protégé as she presents herself to the mayor’s office.
See how easy it is to spin a news story? A few key adjectives here, a selective emphasis there, and you’ve got your website spinning.
Ostensibly non-political organizations like the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund are another thread in the warp and woof of Spokane’s political fabric. The trustees are Sharon Smith, chairwoman of the Spokane County Democrats from 2005-2006 and vice chairwoman of the Washington State Democratic Party from 2009-2010, and her husband, 2004 congressional candidate Don Barbieri. Barbieri has maintained his interest in national politics by donating to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the House Progressive Caucus, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist. Smith and Barbieri are still treated as a Democratic power couple in Spokane, even though they no longer live here, according to their website.
Smith is known for using his donations to Spokane-area charities with an eye toward political and philanthropic impact. It provided key funding to the Camp Hope protest until the state stepped in and extended support through the end of the state’s fiscal year. Coincidentally, it meant that a contentious political issue overlapped with the start of the mayoral race.
It could be another burger without burgers, or it could be a full meal deal. Hard to say, when no one is talking about it publicly. We can only pretend that we are surprised to discover that there is politics involved.
As partisan tendencies have become more evident in nonpartisan municipal races, political parties have become more involved, and that’s not surprising. People who are interested in politics stay engaged between high-profile elections by working with a political party, either as volunteers or as consultants. Whether you see a professional network of like-minded political activists or a dark cabal conspiring to pull strings behind the scenes depends on whether it’s your website.
Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com
