In Our View: Who Owns Stewart?

Jeanne Stewart was right on the premise, but wrong on the facts.

Stewart, a Republican candidate on the November ballot for Clark County commissioner, has claimed that Democratic opponent Craig Pridemore receives much backing from labor unions, asserting, “A lot of people will see that and say the unions own him.”

Yes, it is helpful to consider who are the benefactors to a political campaign, and that information is available from the state Public Disclosure Commission. Yet while Stewart’s premise is valid, perhaps we should consider the facts. Pridemore, as of early this week, had received $8,750 from unions — or about 12 percent of his fundraising. Stewart, meanwhile, had received $89,000 from the state Republican Party — or about 64 percent of her war chest.

There’s nothing untoward about the state party supporting a particular candidate. As Steve Beren, new media and technology director for state Republicans, told Columbian reporter Tyler Graf: “We are supporting Jeanne Stewart because her leadership will benefit the citizens of Clark County and Washington state.”

Which brings up questions about the leadership qualities of other Republican candidates, considering that the state party has donated more than $5,000 to only one other candidate in a local race. And it brings up questions about the role being played by Clark County Commissioner David Madore and real estate developer Clyde Holland, who in September each donated $25,000 to the state Republicans; Holland later donated an additional $65,000. Now the state party is seeing fit to contribute an inordinate amount of money to Stewart’s campaign, a fact that is particularly interesting because Stewart — who previously served on the nonpartisan Vancouver City Council — says that she debated long and hard before deciding to run as a Republican in the race for county commission.

All of this means that it is reasonable to ask about who owns Jeanne Stewart politically.

Those questions could easily be answered — if Madore was taking questions. He did not respond to an inquiry from The Columbian, and a reporter also posted a query on Madore’s Facebook page, which he has said is his preferred mode of communication. The question was deleted without a response, continuing Madore’s track record of ignoring, dismissing, or attempting to belittle those who might disagree with him.

For an elected official, his perpetual arrogance and intransigence is unseemly. If Madore or anybody else contributed to the state Republican Party and directed officials to send more than $950 of it toward a particular candidate, that would violate state campaign finance law. Because perception often morphs into reality in the mind of the public, Madore owes that public some answers about the perceptions surrounding the situation.

Stewart, during a candidate forum with The Columbian’s Editorial Board, said, “I welcome financial support from any source that has no strings attached. I don’t believe anything is expected of me by David Madore.” At that point, Madore and his wife each had made the maximum individual contribution of $950 to her campaign. Now, Stewart’s campaign has received a highly unusual boost from the state Republican Party. Voters might or might not think that is a big deal; they can rely upon their own judgment. But first they should look at the facts and wonder who owns the candidates.