I'm proud to say that while I was on the very show in question, I behaved myself. The offending guest was Cathy Allen, Seattle's overquoted political consultant. Allen screwed up by using the city-funded air time to promote candidates that pay her bills. Allen praised city council candidate Richard McIver (running against Stranger-endorsed Grant Cogswell) and city attorney candidate Edsonya Charles (running against Stranger-endorsed Tom Carr). McIver and Charles have paid Allen $30,000 and $21,500, respectively, for campaign work.
Obviously, it's okay to go on a publicly funded political show and give your opinions about certain candidates, but it raises legal questions when you use the public airwaves to promote candidates after those candidates have hired you as a consultant--dropping about $51,000 into your bank account. It also raises ethical questions about Allen, who evidently didn't think viewers needed to know about her financial ties to the candidates.
Allen told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that she was simply defending her clients after yours truly started "bashing" them. However, a review of the video shows that Allen made a point of bringing up her client McIver prior to any "bashing." Here's how the conversation went:
CATHY ALLEN: "Dick McIver is one of the people... who brings a voice that's just not there."
JOSH FEIT: "Obviously, Grant writes for The Stranger, and I'm a little bit biased, but I think that argument is disingenuous. Can you give an example where McIver has brought the perspective of the black community?
ALLEN: "All I can say is that Dick McIver, stopped during WTO, the only guy of color [on the council], walks the walk and talks the talk on racial profiling. This is an honest, credible guy, and he has the public incentive..."
FEIT: "The racial profiling issue was brought to the floor by Jim Compton."
ALLEN: "Women particularly believe this guy is someone they can talk to. It's not just members of the African American community. The women, in particular, think of McIver as representing a very important voice because he is a guy of color. There are no other people of color on that council."
FEIT: "It seems like a red herring unless that voice is actually delivering."
I'd like to point out that I don't make any money from my relationship with Grant Cogswell. The Stranger pays Cogswell, not--as in Allen's case with McIver--vice-versa. (Heck, Grant is sucking us dry. The Stranger has downloaded $646 into the monorail visionary's campaign.)
"I'm always clear about disclaimers," Allen told The Stranger. "This is just one instance when I didn't. I should have and I didn't."
The program had run six times, dating back to September 19. It was slated to continue running through the November election. Thanks for ruining my big TV debut, Cathy.
