Article by Erik Smith. Published on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 EST.
Ad Urges Troubled Lawmaker to ‘Get Help’
Scenes from the ad.
By Erik Smith
Staff writer/ Washington State Wire
OLYMPIA, Aug. 3.—A new Republican-funded attack on state Rep. Geoff Simpson offers the most devastating attack on a sitting politician in ages – a chorus of earnest-looking women staring at the camera, expressing concern about his latest domestic violence charge.
“Get help before it’s too late,” they say.
The campaign ad, unveiled on YouTube over the weekend, begins airing on cable-television networks today. It takes standard independent-campaign techniques and ratchets them up by ten, and while on one level it certainly can be considered a political attack, in terms of technique it also may rank among the state’s political-campaign classics. Simpson’s campaign, meanwhile, is calling it a “new low in dirty politics practiced in Washington state.”
Funded by GOPAC Washington, the Evergreen-State afflilate of the national Republican political action committee, the message doesn’t come right out and urge voters to choose a different candidate in this month’s primary election. But it does urge the troubled lawmaker to seek some sort of unspecified psychological assistance for his problems.
There’s not much chance this ad is intended as a helpful bit of advice. The ad also refers voters to a website created specifically to detail the domestic violence charges that have been filed against the Covington Democrat over the years. Its name? GeoffSimpsonAssault.com.
Highlights Legal Trouble
In his latest brush with the law, the 47th District lawmaker has been formally charged with gross misdemeanor assault stemming from an alleged instance of domestic violence May 22 at Seattle Children’s Hospital. According to the report filed by the Seattle Police Department, Simpson shoved his ex-wife when she tried to block him from visiting his 12-year-old daughter, who was recovering from surgery in a hospital room. Simpson has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In 2008, Simpson faced another assault charge in a domestic violence dispute with his ex-wife. Police said he grabbed Kathy Simpson by the wrist and arm as they argued over tax documents. Their divorce had been finalized a few days earlier. The charges were dropped, however, when prosecutors said they didn’t have enough evidence to determine that unlawful force had been used.
Simpson, a Kent firefighter, has served in the state House since his election in 2000 and is chairman of the House Local Government Committee.
Aims For the Fence
In the ad, a trio of women face the camera and tell of their worry for Simpson’s well-being.
“There were warning signs,” says one.
Says another, “A few weeks ago he was charged with another domestic assault – this time in front of his daughter.”
Says the third, “It has to stop.”
They take turns reading the lines:
“It’s escalating.”
“Get help, Geoff.”
“It’s not time to be a politician.”
“Focus on your family.”
“That’s what’s most important.”
And then, in unison:
“Get help before it’s too late.”
A Real Issue, Republicans Say
Simpson faces two opponents in the August primary, Nancy Wyatt and Mark Hargrove. Both are Republicans, but because Washington’s ‘top-two’ primary allows the top two vote-getters to advance to the November ballot, there is a chance Simpson could be defeated in the primary.
“This particular ad is provocative, but it may be where we need to go to highlight the seriousness of the problem,” said Lori Sotelo, chairwoman of the King County Republican Party.
Domestic violence is a major problem in society, impacting women and the most vulnerable, she said – and it’s a constant topic before the state Legislature. It’s hard to take seriously a lawmaker who repeatedly gets into trouble on that score.
“Geoff Simpson is elected to represent the citizens of the 47th District, but he is demonstrating a pattern of behavior in his personal life of not being able to uphold the rules he sets. In that he is demonstrating he is not fit to represent the citizens of the 47th District.”
Meanwhile, Simpson’s campaign is characterizing the ad as a low blow. It maintains that the Republicans are less concerned with Simpson’s mental state than they are with winning an election. Campaign manager Rory Steele issued a statement Monday saying:
“The ad is repulsive from the standpoint of anyone who has experienced or witnessed the trauma associated with domestic violence and it hits a new low in Washington state politics. To attempt political gain by profiting off of a family’s divorce and expressing phony concerns about a political adversary in relation to such an issue is sickening. People should seriously consider who’s funding the ad and what they have to gain from it.”Your support matters.
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