PubliCola has been following the drama with the 41st District Democrats (Mercer Island, Bellevue, Newport Hills, Eastgate, Newcastle, and Factoria). And by drama, I don’t mean “Who’s going to get that K.C. Exec’s endorsement?”—that’s likely to be State Sen. Fred Jarrett. (Jarrett, who represents the district, got the recommendation of the group’s executive board last night.)
By drama, I mean: Police reports.
According to a June 18th assault complaint filed with the Bellevue Police by Sonja Rossman, which we got through a records request today, Rossman—until recently, the chair of the district’s endorsement committee—told the Bellevue Police that 41st District leader Jeff Smith “walked up to her and grabbed her arm” as a crew of District members, including she and Smith, were leaving the Azteca restaurant in Bellevue after an earlier, contentious district meeting. Rossman reports that Smith said: “If it’s war you want, then war you shall have.” (Contacted by PubliCola, Smith denies he said that.)
Rossman, the report states, “jumped behind the waiter to get away from Smith…She finds Smith very intimidating and … does not want to be around him anymore.”
A witness—another member of the group—told the police that “Smith was trying to get Rossman’s attention and that it did not appear to be his intention to cause her…harm.”
Smith told the police that the incident did occur, but he ”was simply attempting to get her attention and speak with her.”
The case is now inactive.
As we’ve reported—the contentious issue in the 41st is whether or not Dow Constantine—who Smith says he wants an apology from over a squabble the pair had in the early 1990s—was given a chance to address the district as part of its endorsement process.
Indeed, Smith previously told PubliCola he would not allow Constantine to formally address the 41st. Today, however, he says he might have let Constantine speak to the group if Constantine had asked. Regardless, he reports that Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-34, W. Seattle), a former Constantine staffer and staunch Constantine ally, spoke to the group on behalf of Constantine’s campaign.
I’m waiting to hear back from Constantine’s campaign about this odd story.
Constantine’s campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik (full disclosure, Kaushik is the co-founder of PubliCola) says: “Dow would have liked to address the 41st, but it was clear to us the Chair there had an issue with Dow and wouldn’t allow him to speak, so we sent a surrogate.”
Kaushik says the Constantine campaign also sent a formal letter—as they did with all the legislative districts—asking for the 41st’s endorsement.
