A progressive political organization that accuses a Spokane mayoral candidate of not being honest about her political leanings defends using a lie of its own to prove its point.
Fuse Washington, which has endorsed Ben Stuckart for Spokane mayor, sent an activist to a campaign stop by Nadine Woodward last July, claiming to be a supporter of President Donald Trump and asking the former television news anchor whom she voted for in the 2016 presidential election.
When Woodward declined, saying the race is nonpartisan and it doesn’t matter what party you are if you’re filling pot holes, the activist persisted. He said it was a key factor in deciding his support. After several minutes of discussion, Woodward said “I’ll tell you one thing, I did not vote for Hillary Clinton. Is that good enough?”
Cornell Clayton, political science professor and director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, said lying by activists in a campaign “falls into a gray area.” A conservative group, Project Veritas, has used it repeatedly to compile video exposes of groups it targets, justifying the tactic by arguing its opponents are hypocritical, he said.
Secret ballots have been standard in American elections for more than a century. Candidates often deflect questions about how they voted in other races or for controversial measures by citing the secrecy of the ballot, Clayton said.