This Washington
Simpson Endorsers Waiting for More Facts to Emerge in Domestic Violence Case
Editor's note: This post has been corrected to reflect the fact that the Washington Bus says it has no intention of reconsidering its endorsement of Geoff Simpson.
In the wake of news that state Rep. Geoff Simpson (D-47) has been charged for a second time with domestic violence against his ex-wife, PubliCola's news intern, Tiffany Vu, checked in with several progressive groups that endorsed Simpson to see if they planned to reconsider their endorsements.
The Washington Bus, a group that works to activate young voters to work for progressive candidates across the state, named Simpson as one of its six top-priority candidates just over a week ago. Bus spokesman Toby Crittenden says the group "takes [the charges] very seriously," but says the group does not plan to reconsider its endorsement at this time. "We're waiting to see what the facts are," Crittenden says.
Fuse, the liberal advocacy group, also gave Simpson an early endorsement, last month; the group's executive director, Aaron Ostrom, says that while Fuse is "concerned" about the charges, "I'm not sure we would revisit our endorsement. We're waiting to make any choices until we learn more about the situation."
Representatives of two pro-choice groups, Planned Parenthood Votes! and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, cited Simpson's consistent pro-choice voting record and said they were not currently planning to reassess their endorsements.
Simpson "has been very supportive of women's health issues," said Planned Parenthood director Elaine Rose. NARAL director Lauren Simonds, also citing Simpson's 100 percent pro-choice record, says that "until we have all the facts and the legal process has run its course, we are not revisiting our endorsement."
In a statement, the Simpson campaign said, "Geoff Simpson is not dropping out of this race. Geoff is looking forward to having his name cleared and these charges dropped, and is very grateful for the continued support shown to him by is friends and supporters in this difficult time."
His latest Facebook update, posted two hours ago, is this quote from Mark Twain: "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
In the wake of news that state Rep. Geoff Simpson (D-47) has been charged for a second time with domestic violence against his ex-wife, PubliCola's news intern, Tiffany Vu, checked in with several progressive groups that endorsed Simpson to see if they planned to reconsider their endorsements.
The Washington Bus, a group that works to activate young voters to work for progressive candidates across the state, named Simpson as one of its six top-priority candidates just over a week ago. Bus spokesman Toby Crittenden says the group "takes [the charges] very seriously," but says the group does not plan to reconsider its endorsement at this time. "We're waiting to see what the facts are," Crittenden says.
Fuse, the liberal advocacy group, also gave Simpson an early endorsement, last month; the group's executive director, Aaron Ostrom, says that while Fuse is "concerned" about the charges, "I'm not sure we would revisit our endorsement. We're waiting to make any choices until we learn more about the situation."
Representatives of two pro-choice groups, Planned Parenthood Votes! and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, cited Simpson's consistent pro-choice voting record and said they were not currently planning to reassess their endorsements.
Simpson "has been very supportive of women's health issues," said Planned Parenthood director Elaine Rose. NARAL director Lauren Simonds, also citing Simpson's 100 percent pro-choice record, says that "until we have all the facts and the legal process has run its course, we are not revisiting our endorsement."
In a statement, the Simpson campaign said, "Geoff Simpson is not dropping out of this race. Geoff is looking forward to having his name cleared and these charges dropped, and is very grateful for the continued support shown to him by is friends and supporters in this difficult time."
His latest Facebook update, posted two hours ago, is this quote from Mark Twain: "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
