Big Money is Ruining Our Chance
for Local Democracy! You Can Help!
Dear Friends,
Sally Soriano, despite her 4 years of experience as Seattle School
Board Director, better qualifications for the position and willingness
to engage in substantive dialogue about her record and school policies,
is finding it difficult to get her message out in the District 1 race.
Her opponent, Peter Maier, apparently has been purchased by the
political and economic establishment. He's going all out with his
$130,000 war chest to win a position that pays $4800/year.
Maier (and the big business-backed slate he's a part of) seems not to
understand anything about building public trust or protecting the
public interest. Before Maier and the slate, we haven't needed
campaign
finance limits on school board races because the candidates for the
most part exercised restraint in fundraising and spending. Democracy
will be harmed as a result of his decisions. Fewer candidates will be
able to run, closing off one of the few areas left for political
participation by middle and working class citizens. The other risk to
local democracy, of course, is the demand for payback which invariably
flows when candidates accept large contributions.
Who are Peter Maier's donors and what do they want?
Among his funders are telecommunications and software billionaires,
real estate developers, venture capitalists and state and local
politicians with a corporatist agenda-- backers of charter school
legislation in 2004 (overturned by the voters in referendum 55) and
proponents of an extremely regressive tax, harmful to poor and middle
class people, to fund education (I-884).
Four couples and one individual, whose collective wealth comes from
software, real estate, and capital investment, account for $57,000 of
the donations.
- The largest single donation,$12,000, was from Theresa Gillespie and
John W. Stanton. Stanton, an East Side wireless company billionaire,
was appointed by President Bush to the National Security
Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), an industry committee
advising the President, DOD and intelligence agencies. Stanton
previously advised Mike McGavick and is considered to be a possible
Republican contender for Governor. Stanton is an investor, with the
Gate Foundation and others, in the Business Partnership for Early
Learning.
- Another couple, Christopher Larson (Microsoft) and Julia Calhoun
(Laurel Gifts), gave Maier the largest total donation-- $15,000.
Contributions derived from the computer technology sector exceeded
$24,000. At least $14,400 was attributable to real estate interests.
(Maier's law partner practices construction and real estate law.)
Banking, insurance and investment capital interests kicked in over
$15,000. Business lawyers contributed approximately $6,500 and $11,000
came from a variety of large and smaller businesses.
A group with a very special interest in backing Maier are politicians
who favor privatization of public education. Maier received donations
from Reps. McIntire (46) and Sommers (36) and Sen. Kohl-Welles (36),
hardened backers of the 2004 charter school legislation along with
Rep.Chopp (43) and Rep. Dickerson (36) (endorsers). Also, 6 former
school board directors who favor charter schools contributed $1300.
Nicolas Hanauer (investor in TeachFirst) contributed $10,000 to Peter
Maier's campaign. Hanauer's known as the main funder of I-884, the
regressive increased sales tax approach to funding education statewide.
(Hanauer covered 44% of the initiative's $185,000 budget and
would've
been a direct beneficiary had it passed.)
In sum, the corporate interests who are funding Peter Maier's
campaign
have a very clear focus. We can't let them destroy public education.
Keep public schools public! Vote for Sally!