I’m a Seattle mom. “Moms for Seattle” doesn’t speak for me.
I’m a mom raising three kids in northeast Seattle. So when a targeted ad sponsored by the group “Moms for Seattle” popped up on my Facebook feed with a gauzy picture of children blowing bubbles in the sunlight, it caught my eye.
This group was endorsing candidates running in the Seattle City Council district that I used to represent as a state legislator. And once I started digging, it became clear these “moms” were a front group for a conservative, anti-government agenda. If you care about creating a vibrant Seattle that works for all of us, I urge you to approach their recommendations with extreme caution and instead look at sources I trust, like CAPE or Fuse (more on them later).
The cute picture from the ad that caught my eye? It’s a stock image titled “Group of Diverse Kids BLowing [sic] Bubbles Together at the Field.” The rest of the organization is just as phony as the photo. “Moms for Seattle’s” endorsements are filled with vague and meaningless language about “real solutions” that in my experience is almost always code for a conservative agenda. (If you support real solutions, you should probably put a few real solutions on your website.)
But let’s dig deeper. Who are these so-called Seattle moms, anyway? Their Facebook page was created less than a month ago — June 24th — and they began spending tens of thousands of dollars in advertising shortly after that. They provide virtually no information on who they are, who created them, and which organizations they’re affiliated with. In fact, the last time I checked, they only had 103 Facebook followers.
Luckily, local activist Matt “Spek” Watson took to Twitter to help sort out exactly who this group represents. First and foremost, their Political Action Committee registration was completed by a prominent member of the conservative neighborhood action group Speak Out Seattle. I’m pretty sure some guy named “Kevin” isn’t the leading authority on what it means to be a Mom in Seattle.
Astonishingly, despite the lack of concrete policies and real-world followers, this group was able to raise $150,000 in their first month — a substantial and worrisome amount for a local city council campaign. Their top contribution comes from Katherine Binder, a charter-school proponent from Bellevue (a city which, last I checked, is not even a part of Seattle.)
As a former elected official, if I saw a PAC spending $150,000 in my race, with almost all of that total raised from $5,000 contributions in their first month, I’d be extremely skeptical. With no pre-existing social media page, website, or organizations involved, how did these donors raise $150,000 for “Moms for Seattle” before the organization even filed?
And where are they spending this money? A sizable chunk— over $62,000 — went to mailings sent to almost 70,000 households. The rest — about $48,000 — was spent on digital advertisements on Facebook garnering roughly 4.8 million impressions. That’s a big deal in an election that will likely come down to less than a hundred votes.
The PAC is using a vendor with almost no information available online: Western Consultants LLC. In contrast to the normal consultants who do business in Seattle, I can’t find a website with information on who’s involved with or running this firm. There’s no list of past campaigns, and they list a P.O. box as their address. It’s more than a little strange for a consultancy to list no information, and it’s usually an indicator that they’re intentionally obfuscating information on who’s involved.
Hopefully some ambitious local journalist will follow the money trail to uncover the identities of the people who are influencing this election. Until then, I can tell you this: for an organization espousing “transparency” and “accountability” as its stated objective, “Moms for Seattle” is infuriatingly lacking in any kind of information that will help voters make informed decisions.
Take it from me and my years of experience as a legislator: any group that’s unwilling to share basic information has something to hide.
Still, don’t let the existence of one questionable organization dampen your enthusiasm to vote. If you’re unsure who you should support and you share my vision of a vibrant city that works for everyone, here are a few sources I’m using to decide:
I’m really excited about a new rating system for progressive candidates: CAPE (Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy). Civic Action, an affiliated organization of Civic Ventures, where I work, joined forces with Working Washington and One America to rate candidates on their commitment to working-class people. CAPE’s goal is to better ensure our economy works for everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy.
And every year, I use Fuse Washington’s Progressive Voters Guide to help me with my ballot. The staff at this progressive organization spends thousands of hours collecting information from dozens of partner organizations, questionnaires, and campaign statements to create an incredibly comprehensive review of each candidate. They’re one of the sources I trust the most when it comes to deciding my vote because they’re informative, transparent, and civic-minded — in other words, everything “Moms for Seattle” is not.
Jessyn Farrell
Former State Legislator from the 46th District and Senior Vice President at Civic Ventures
