smearing Jeff Kingsbury? stupid plan.

Via blog-neighbor Emmett O'Connell, word of a story I missed in The Olympian: some idiot* used a mailer to smear Jeff Kingsbury.

The postcard carried a return address for "Kids at Play," a summer theater program run by Capital Playhouse, which Kingsbury founded and operates. The Olympian obtained a copy of a postcard that was postmarked Nov. 18 and mailed to the YWCA of Olympia.

On the front is a picture of Kingsbury and a logo for Capital Playhouse. It reads: "I want your vote for mayor of Olympia, and after that State Senator. As I am destined to be the next Mayor of Olympia I look forward to walking across the street from my business Capital Playhouse Northwest Theater for Youth to my new $35 million dollar City Hall office.

"Lately there has been a bit of an uproar about me calling people 'idiots', what's the big deal, most people are, I am just the guy that's man enough to say it. Just search my name on the local paper's website 'The olympian.com'."

The postcard went on to make suggestive comments about Kingsbury's sexual orientation — he is gay — and his theater program.

There is no race for mayor next year, and Kingsbury abstained from voting on Olympia's planned $35.6 million City Hall, which would be across Fourth Avenue from Capital Playhouse, to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The reference to calling people "idiots" refers to Kingsbury using his laptop computer during a recent council meeting to post that an Olympia resident addressing the council was an idiot. He later said he was referring to someone at the council meeting who called President-elect Barack Obama a "mulatto" and asked if Obama would "save the white people from the coming great famine." He later said he learned his lesson after the private Facebook exchange appeared on a local blog.

It's not the first time an area councilman has made a blogging faux pas--Lakewood's Walter Neary comes to mind--but the response, maybe even by the same obviously unhinged citizen, is beyond ridiculous.

In the end, this lunatic scheme will backfire. Kingsbury is a good man and a passionate representative for his constituents. He deserves all Olympians' support.




*Yes, the word "idiot" is intentional.