Millionaires Tax Supporters Say “CON” List Padded With Falsified Names, Identity Impersonations; Call on House Chief Clerk and Attorney General to Investigate
Supporters of the Millionaires Tax who were fraudulently signed in “con” for tomorrow’s House Finance Committee hearing are calling on Chief House Clerk Dean and Attorney General Nick Brown to launch an investigation. The fraudulent sign-ins include Senator Victoria Hunt (LD-5), who is a sponsor of the Millionaires Tax, Former Congressman Derek Kilmer, SEIU 775 Secretary Treasurer Adam Glickman, and WEA President Larry Delaney.
The list of more than 100 confirmed fraudulent “con” sign-ins was discovered over just one weekend and continues to grow as more people discover their identities were falsified. Many of these sign-ins were within seconds of each other.
“I was alerted to the fact that I had been signed in con for the House hearing with the Finance Committee on the Millionaires Tax over the weekend and confirmed it myself, looking at who had signed to testify, that somebody had signed in without my permission on my behalf,” said Senator Victoria Hunt (LD-5)
“I was shocked to say the least, to learn that at 4:32am Thursday morning while I was home fast asleep, somebody apparently put my name and organization into the official testimony record as against the Millionaires Tax. I was even more appalled to learn that I wasn't the only one that happened to over the weekend. We confirmed that at least a hundred people, including a former member of Congress, a current state senator, many leaders of SEIU 775, and other SEIU locals, were impersonated and their identities misused by someone providing false information to the state legislature in an effort to undermine and defeat the Millionaires Tax,” said SEIU 775 Secretary Treasurer Adam Glickman
“When I found out that allegedly in the wee hours of the morning I signed in con, I was surprised. I didn't understand the scope at the time. Unfortunately, there are folks in our political circles who believe that the end justifies the means. And you don't have to look too far to see where democracy is crumbling. We need to make sure that we are supporting democratic processes, that when the official record of any bill is read that we have confidence it is accurate,” said WEA President Larry Delaney
There have been an extraordinarily high number of duplicate sign-ins against the Millionaires Tax. Senator Hunt, for example, was fraudulently signed in twice. As of 10AM Sunday morning, there have been more than 15,573 duplicates for the Senate hearing and more than 22,251 duplicates for the House hearing. While some of these might be common names “John Smith”, for example, the frequency and high number of duplicates - some 50 or even 100 times - is a serious matter.
“Con” sign-ins have been a major talking point for opponents of the Millionaires Tax, which multiple polls have shown has over 60% support. The fraudulent sign-ins call into question just how broad the opposition to this tax actually is, who is behind the massive list padding, and why.
About Invest in Washington Now
Invest In Washington Now is a network of over 130,000 Washingtonians from across the state united for a just and equitable tax code. We led efforts to pass the state’s capital gains tax on extraordinary profits and defended it at the ballot last year by defeating Initiative 2109 with over 64% of the vote. Learn more at investinwanow.org