CAPE’s endorsed candidates have allowed lawlessness, riots and a homeless epidemic. Voters would be wise to use their recommendations as a list of candidates to avoid rather than doubling down on policies that have failed.
More than a dozen political action committees (PACs) have been created during the 2021 election cycle in Seattle, and though progressives continue to say the money is going to moderate candidates, thousands of dollars are being used to support anarchist and progressive candidates.
Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC), how PACs are labeled in Seattle, can raise and spend huge amounts of money to support whichever candidate, campaign or cause they choose. The groups are not bound by spending limits imposed on individual candidates, but also are prohibited from coordinating with candidates in any way.
Howvever, money is pouring in to support Antifa activists like Nicole Thomas Kennedy in the City Attorney race and Nikkita Oliver, whose organization was active in the deadly "autonomous zone" in the City Council Race. The candidates lament money supporting their opponents.
In the 2019 city council races, the Civic Alliance for a Progressive Economy (CAPE), spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect radical progressive candidates and demonize moderates and conservatives. The group even paid Break Something, a DC political consulting firm, $165,000 for help.
The group was very successful and elected socialist Tammy Morales, who at the height of the riots in Seattle in 2020 said, "It does make me wonder and ask the question why looting bothers people so much more than knowing that across the country, black men and women are dying every day, and far too often at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve."
ICYMI: "It does make me wonder why looting bothers people so much more than knowing that... black people are being killed around the country."
Seattle City Councilwoman Tammy Morales says she doesn't want to be "told to be civil." pic.twitter.com/eHIACGx6PK
— MRCTV (@mrctv)
Morales has voted with Marxist Council Member Kshama Sawant on the vast majority of issues. Oliver heavily advocated for Morales during her election campaign and the pair have advocated for defunding the police and giving the money to community groups while also advocating for less prisons and releasing criminals.
CAPE has to date spent $79,956.52 supporting Oliver who is mired in allegations of fraud and worse. Oliver is one of the leaders of King County Equity Now (KCEN) and has advocated for defunding the police and for the money to be given to community groups. She also advocates for less prisons and releasing criminals and defunding the police "at least 100 percent."
This is Nikkita Oliver advocating for defunding the police inside the armed occupation of Seattle which resulted in the deaths of 2 black teens and wounding of 4 others.
She is running for City Council. She is endorsed by Socialist Council Member Tammy Morales pic.twitter.com/v9ZgcfFvzL
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather)
Oliver was a frequent visitor and speaker in the zone, advocating for defunding the police inside the armed occupation of Seattle which resulted in the deaths of two black teens and wounding of four others. Crime spiked 250 percent during the month the zone was allowed by Seattle officials to exist. Oliver in 2020 told Vanity Fair that "Policing is inherently racist."
Recently, allegations of money mismanagement and fraud have been leveled against her organization. The Seattle City Council used a loophole to circumvent the bidding process and appropriated 3 million dollars to "non-profit" organizations that were part of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).
The money appeared to be more of a political payoff to groups involved in the riots and armed occupation of the city, rather than an investment in the community. The money was funneled through the office Council Member Morales. Oliver was a supporter of the Morales campaign and Morales has endorsed Oliver’s campaign for council.
KCEN advocates for "Pay the Fee" using Oliver's image, where Seattle businesses, typically in the Central District, are supposed to pay King County Equity Now a fee for the privilege of doing business there.
Ian Eisenberg owner of Uncle Ike's pot shops told The Post Millennial that during the 2020 riots, which regularly vandalized his stores, "The groups that are encouraging this in Seattle, they're getting paid. They are getting money and property from the city. It's working so why wouldn't they consider doing it, I've been told so many times that if I gave money like a few years ago to the Black Book Club, my problems would go away. In other cities it is just called extortion."
In June, Oliver spoke at an event celebrating an attempted genocide of Jews living in Israel. She used the platform to promote a radical agenda while demonizing the Jewish state behind a banner displaying the destruction of Israel. Activists assaulted Jews who peacefully protested during the event.
Oliver’s group was also involved in a Pride event in June which stated that while the event will be free for people of color, white people will be charged a "$10 to $50 reparations fee." Oliver received a perfect score from CAPE during their endorsement process.
CAPE also gave Thomas-Kennedy, the radical police and prison abolitionist who works with Antifa and pledged not to prosecute crime, a perfect score in their candidate rating for the upcoming election.
Thomas-Kennedy, the Antifa-supporting candidate vying to replace the incumbent, had previously tweeted that she was looking for land in between Portland and Seattle to stage riots.
Thomas-Kennedy’s tweets included messages supporting arson in Kenosha during the deadly riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Her supporters previously attacked people on social media for posting the candidate's old tweets by calling them fake. A deep dive of her Twitter history demonstrated that her top hashtags are anti-police and pro-riots.
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During the ongoing riots in Seattle in August of 2020, Thomas-Kennedy referred to police as "armed thugs," supported black bloc Antifa activists and tweeted that "Property destruction is a moral imperative." She also praised activists for blocking ambulances in a now-deleted tweet.
The radical also called cops serial killers and called an attempted bomber of a police station "a hero." Thomas-Kennedy in other deleted tweets called for the overthrow of capitalism and advocated for communism while discussing her hatred for America. She is campaigning to oversee the office’s $35 million budget, declared bankruptcy, has a massive amount of debt, and lives in subsidized housing.
When the tweet, as well as hundreds of other radical posts, came under scrutiny, Thomas-Kennedy began deleting the tweets.
Thomas-Kennedy’s campaign manager Tye Reed tweeted during the George Floyd riots of 2020 about advocating for communism and violence, even against Democrats and people of color.
There’s nothing more exciting than seeing dozens of union members out on a cold, stormy #BombCyclone October morning volunteering to elect pro-worker candidates. 10 days to election day! Thank you for the inspiration, @Nikkita4Nine @HasegawaForPort @ntkallday. pic.twitter.com/fzMi29ux0y
— MLK Labor - Pass the #PROAct (@MLKLabor)
Socialist Council Member Teresa Mosqueda, is a longtime supporter of Antifa, and has even dressed her child in Antifa t-shirts. Mosqueda supports Thomas-Kennedy and campaigned with her and oliver this past weekend. According to KOMO News in 2019, Teresa Mosqueda has "...voting records that align with the interests of CAPE."
In June, during her live stream while participating in a Seattle riot, a man Mosqueda was interviewing yelled: "SPD, I need you to do me a favor. Take your guns, put them onto your chins, and pull the trigger."
Mosqueda justified the riots and falsely claimed during the video meeting that "The very thing that everybody was protesting, excessive police force, was met by a militarized response. Yes, it was stoked by the President, and yes, it was stoked by others, but it was carried out right in our city."
The money behind CAPE is coming from Nick Hanauer, one of the original Amazon investors, who has spent millions of dollars funneling money to progressive causes.
Hanauer’s venture capital firm Second Avenue partners has been tied to his progressive think tank True Patriot which is one of CAPE’s largest contributors. According to Complex, Hanauer made the list of 15 dumbest TED talks of all time. “Though Hanauer and several media outlets (HuffPo and Upworthy: surprise surprise) made claims that this talk was not included on TED's site because it was "too hot for TED," watching the video leads you to conclude that the talk was really just too bland.
According to Chris Anderson "We discussed internally and ultimately told the speaker we did not plan to post. He did not react well. He had hired a PR firm to promote the talk to MoveOn and others, and the PR firm warned us that unless we posted he would go to the press and accuse us of censoring him. We again declined and this time I wrote him and tried gently to explain in detail why I thought his talk was flawed."
CAPE’s endorsed candidates have allowed lawlessness, riots and a homeless epidemic in Seattle. Voters would be wise to use their recommendations as a list of candidates to avoid rather than doubling down on policies that have failed when put into practice, causing many to ask, "What is their endgame?"