King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert apologizes for ‘racist’ campaign mailer

King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert took to Facebook and apologized for campaign mailers that her fellow councilmembers called racist.

On her “Kathy Lambert for King County Council” Facebook page, Lambert posted the following statement:

I need to apologize for the harm that the flyer has caused to Councilmember Zahilay, my colleagues, the public I have long worked for and appreciate and to my family.

My dedication and heart are not to hurt, but to serve. This message is certainly not what was intended. I have terminated my consultants contract and look forward to moving ahead in a more positive direction. I want to continue to focus on the good ahead as well as the great work we have done together over the last twenty years. Again, I am very sorry.

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The mailer included images of Senator Bernie Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris, Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant, and King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay holding marionette strings above council candidate Sarah Perry, bearing the message: “Sarah Perry would be a Socialist Puppet on the Eastside pushing their agenda.” It also stated that Perry is “backed by Seattle socialist leader Girmay Zahilay, who wants to defund the police.”

Five King County councilmembers issued a joint statement on Wednesday, denouncing Lambert’s message as “a racist piece of political mail.”

Lambert responded by saying that Zahilay “is the only socialist on the county council and Sarah [Perry] has chosen to campaign with him.”

“They share policies that will bring more homelessness and crime to the Eastside,” she continued. “Sarah is the person campaigning with a socialist. They know the voters don’t want socialism on the Eastside which is why they are making these outrageous statements.”

Councilmembers Reagan Dunn and Pete von Reichbauer issued a joint statement on Friday that read:

The campaign piece is both offensive and inappropriate. Today we asked our colleague to publicly apologize so that the King County Council can refocus on working for the people we serve. We believe that elected leaders must do everything in their power to fight racism – that includes political speech. It was right of her to issue an apology and it is an important step forward.

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