Isn't it interesting that Tim Botkin, executive director of the SEED program went to Olympia along with Chris Endresen to protest against NASCAR, and suddenly, ended up with an additional $1.2 million for his fully taxpayer-funded venture? He originally asked for $8 million and got zip — until he testified against NASCAR.
What's even more telling, is where the money came from... Representative Phil Rockefeller, who sits on the Ways and Means Committee — that's the committee that hands out the money in case you didn't know — was able to engineer moving that money out of an allocation earmarked for downtown Bremerton, to Botkin. This is the same Phil Rockefeller who had a sign on his Olympia office door that read, "Don't trash Kitsap with NASCAR." Not exactly open-minded, is he?
It looks to me like Botkin was paid off — at the expense of Bremerton — for a reason. It's no secret that the Democrats were angry with Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman over his support of NASCAR, and decided to teach him a lesson in towing the party line.
What I find absolutely reprehensible is that the party is willing to intentionally put the delicate economic revitalization of Bremerton at risk as a way to send a political message to Bozeman. SEED isn't even in Rockefeller's district, but in the 35th — Tim Sheldon’s district. It's abundantly clear Rockefeller put his own elitist prejudices and partisan politics ahead of what's best for Bremerton — which is in the district he represents. I’d like to hear him explain his actions — in a way that passes the straight face test.
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