FAQ: The growing list of reasons to vote against Jon Russell.

(This post will remain at the top of the post list until after Russell is defeated in the primary. Please scroll down for new posts. Check the Blog Archive list in the right column for new listings)

Originally posted October 10, 2010)

The fact is, and this blog makes no bones about it, I despise Jon Russell.

It has been my misfortune to have known Russell for 10 years on a professional level.

Back in 2004, I was consulting on a local House campaign when the House Republican Organizational Committee foisted Russell on us. He was fresh out of the Midwest... and he proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

It got so bad that we demanded, and HROC acquiesced, to keeping this guy away from the campaign.

The entirety of the relationship between Russell and myself is summed up in my second phone call from Russell, where he asked me if I had our campaign opponent's social security number.

I didn't have it. I didn't want it. And if I DID have it, I wouldn't have given it to him.

But that he would even ask me for such a thing? That's set the tone for the years that have followed.

Make no mistake about it: this guy is the prototype of the career politician.

Everything he's done has been aimed at getting elected... to something. Every position held? A campaign prop.

Right now, he has a pregnant wife that he will cheerfully leave behind with an infant and two toddlers as he's playing the big shot... first in DC, until it became even obvious to him that his congressional campaign was DOA, something I had known for months; and now in Olympia.

What kind of man would do that?

The kind of man that would ask for someone's social security number to do them harm.

The kind of man who would send out canned letters as part of a campaign ploy, acting as if they were spontaneous expressions for support of this clown.

The kind of man who would deny any responsibility for the debacle of Washougal City Government that HE, PERSONALLY, is responsible for. 

The kind of man who would deny us the right to choose our own candidates, and who, were he to get his way, deny us the right to vote for people like Joe Zatrelli, Ed Orcutt, Don Benton, Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke.

The kind of man who would lie to others about the role he's played in working to stop the Cowlitz Casino.

The kind of man who would lie to the Precinct Committee Officers of this district about how much money he's raised and what his wife's job is.

The kind of man who would talk a great game about illegal aliens, but not even bother to show up to speak at or listen to the Woodland Resolution debate about that very subject.

The kind of man who claims to be a conservative, but who made thousands trying to ram the Vancouver Port Levy down our throats... like any other political mercenary.

The kind of man who would leave Washougal's government in a mess with a missing $100,000 so he could climb another step on his political career ladder.

The kind of man who would hire an unbondable buddy as Washougal's city finance director.

The kind of man who would support that horrific bridge replacement/loot rail plan that will blow a $100,000,000 a year hole in our local economy.

The kind of man who would lie about someone personally in an effort to discredit them.

The kind of man who would take balloons away from kids because they had the wrong logo on them.

The kind of man who would take credit for getting rid of Sellers while failing to explain his cowardly silence while she was still around.

The kind of man who would attack others for being the very thing he, himself, is: a career politician.

The kind of man who would constantly portray his wife as a doctor, even advertising that lie, when she clearly is not.

The kind of man who would lie about getting a college degree.

The kind of man who would lie to the 18th District Precinct Committee Officers about how much money he had raised, his education and that his wife is a doctor.

The kind of man who would deliberately violate state Public Disclosure Commission law.... and violate that law for months.

The kind of man who would make up a fake name to comment on stories involving his political opponents.

These are many of the reasons I oppose his candidacy. He has a history of tossing others under a bus, lying about others, exaggerating his own accomplishments and denigrating those opposing him... quite unnecessarily.

And THAT is what WE should have representing US?

I think not.

Culpeper residents are starting to pay attention to Jon Russell.

Several months ago, I concluded that Jon Russell was going to bring that same brand of dishonest, self-aggrandizing, lying politics to Culpeper, VA that he displayed here.

First, I am not a part of any campaign.  I'm not getting paid by anyone to do this... Folks can just call it a community service.

I knew Russell was, at some point, going to get stupid and run for some other office... which is why I decided to keep his blog up, detailing his lack of honesty, integrity, mental issues and the bizarre combination of lying about himself to make him bigger in the eyes of others, and his major insecurities that, in fact, cause him to lie... even when he doesn't have to.

yesterday, I received 4 emails from residents wanting to know about this guy.  Numbers on the blog are climbing, fast.

Today, I'll be working on a FAQ to answer most of their questions.  I will be doing any5thing I legally can to make sure this guy isn't elected to dog catcher.

And this blog will be the clearing house for that.

For those reading this entry, my opposition to Russell is based on knowing him for the past 10 years or so, and watching him lie to get what he wants... and what he wants is frequently not what the people want.

Those wondering why I would care, since he's on the other side of the country, need to understand that I don't want Jon Russell anywhere in government generally and MY government particularly.

His efforts at getting elected to a city council have nothing to do with his care or concern of the city in question: it's all about a stepping stone to higher office.

This guy used his seat on the Washougal city council as a prop for his abysmal, failed congressional run and his subsequent disaster of a race for state representative.

This guy doesn't give a damn about Culpeper except in so far as what that community can do to enhance his chances at higher political office.  And if you don't believe that, just ask him... and he'll have to tell you if he's still doing that fake Christian thing.

This blog chronicles this guys self-aggrandizement, lies and distortions used to harm others.  Expect the same as he tried to rebuild his political empire over in your backyard.

More today or tomorrow.  Thanks for coming by.

Russell starting his push for his Culpeper run: knows it all.

Jon Russell has always (mistakenly) thought himself to be the smartest guy in the room no matter where he is: and the poor blighters in the City of Culpeper are no exception.

See, in Jon's world, everyone else is wrong, and he's right... particularly if he wants to get elected to something.

Well, if Culpeper is interested in electing a divider instead of a uniter; an ego-maniac who sees this as yet another stepping stone to higher office at their expense (much like he tried... and failed miserably, here) then Russell is their guy.

Good luck with that.

Here's his latest ego trips:

Monday, February 10, 2014                                                                                                                                   Culpeper Residents Need to be Heard                                                                                                      

If you've ever been to a regularly scheduled town council meeting, you know there is a public comment time at the beginning of each meeting. 

What most people don't know is by the time ordinances and resolutions come before the council as a whole, the council has already had committee hearings and sometimes special meetings to discuss the items before them. 

Committee meetings are where the real work of the council is conducted. So it would stand to reason that committee meetings and special meetings should also be open for public testimony to ensure the voice of the public is heard before legislation is moved to the council as a whole. Unfortunately the public is left out of policy discussions at the committee level.

Public testimony can be added to the agenda of every committee meeting, but it is up the council to make that happen. 

We should encourage public testimony in all town council meetings to ensure accountability, cooperation and transparency. 

Posted by Jon Russell at 9:20 AM No comments:

Thursday, February 6, 2014
Cooperation for Culpeper By Jon Russell  

The Town of Culpeper faces many financial challenges on the horizon; state and federal mandates on the our local dams and storm water regulations to name a couple. 

As we begin the process of budgeting and planning for the future, it is incumbent upon us to work together as a team. Both elected officials and the public must be as partners to overcome some pretty high regulatory hurdles. 

Prioritizing our needs in the budgeting process would keep us from unnecessary tax & fee increases. A mission statement and strategic planning would help us move forward with a unified front.

At the end of the day, cooperation on the council and welcomed participation by the public will put our town on solid footing in the decision making process. 

Prioritizing our needs in the budgeting process would keep us from unnecessary tax & fee increases. A mission statement and strategic planning would help us move forward with a unified front. 

At the end of the day, cooperation on the council and welcomed participation by the public will put our town on solid footing in the decision making process.

 Posted by Jon Russell at 7:56 AM No comments:

Jon Russell is running for Culpeper, VA city council.

Not content with having done a great job of screwing up Washougal, WA while he was an anchor around that city council's neck, Jon Russell, who utilized psychotic fake identities and who exaggerated... repeatedly... his resume' until I busted him... repeatedly... for doing so... now feels compelled to pollute the city council of Culpeper, VA.

Russell, whose tenure on the Washougal city council was marked by the disappearance of tens of thousands of city dollars, the Stacee Sellers scandal, division and controversy, not to mention his multiple and moronic attempts to get out of Washougal via higher office, including getting clobbered during both his congressional AND state representative run still has the political snake hanging from his jugular, and he wants to become somebody, no matter how many cities he has to screw up to get there:

Russell, finally, leaves.  

For an extended period of time (several months), Jon Russell had been skipping many of the the city council meetings that he had a duty to attend, since he was an elected Washougal City Councilman.

No longer. 

Jon Russell has finally done what he SHOULD have done months ago, and left the city council.

Here's my review of his political tenure:

The Columbian referred to Russell's time on the council as "controversial."

That's much like accurately describing the editors of the Columbian and their editorial page as "leftist."  While correct as a label, it really doesn't come close to a complete description, nor does it lend itself to the flavor of a pattern of immaturity, deceit and dishonesty that marked Russell's campaigns and his use of Washougal as a prop on his way up the political ladder.

I first met Russell after he'd come out here back in '04 to handle the SW Washington area HROC gig... which was his first disaster.  In '04, then Rep. Jim Dunn (R-17) had been given a kind of "persona-non-gratia" status by Republican Leader Rep. Richard DeBolt (R-20) and Russell's marching orders were to defeat him in the primary.

Russell worked the campaign of then candidate, now first term State Representative Paul Harris (R-17) (Third time was the charm) and it looked like Harris was going to win going away until Russell sent out a mailer for Harris that changed everything as it attacked Dunn for his age and his weight among other things... and Harris lost.

Russell also interfaced with the Richard Curtis campaign that I consulted on.  Ultimately, his efforts proved to be equally disastrous and both Curtis and I worked to, and ultimately was successful in, getting any further involvement in our campaign by Russell ended.

For example, Russell's second phone call to me was a request for Pam Brokaw's social security number.

I did not have that number, didn't want it and didn't need it.  I told Russell that we didn't play politics that way and that we were going to win this fair and square, without engaging in tactics that required an opponent's social security number.

Since that time, I've watched Russell locally.  He's engaged in a pattern of political dirty tricks including multiple fake names and handles that enabled him to, typically, attack political opponents, even after his appointment to the Washougal city council, while protecting his true identity.

He made up information about his wife as a "doctor."  He repeatedly lied about his education, making up fake degrees.

Russell, an alleged conservative, worked on the Port of Vancouver levy on the "for" side, advocating for what would have been the biggest tax increase in this area's history.

He steadfastly refused to take responsibility for any of the Stacee Sellers debacle, and had no knowledge over the subsequent disappearance of $100,000 in city funds even though he chaired the city finance committee.

He made up fake facebook identities that leaned toward small, petite blond women (Teacher Judy Banks and Jessica Bowen)  had surrogates engage in personal attacks (One of Jon's minions went so far as to attempt to get me kicked off the board of a charitable organization in Idaho)

His campaigns, efforts to get out of Washougal all, included a disastrous, unsuccessful run at the 3rd District Congressional seat; now, unfortunately, held by Jaime Herrera... and then a run at the open 18th District House seat that had been held by Herrera as she vacated to move up to Congress.

I'm hearing a wide variety of other interesting rumors in the political game concerning candidates in the upcoming election... but don't have quite enough to go to web, yet.  That said, there's an entire blog devoted to Russell's antics, Jon Russell Watch. 

Check it out for more details.

One thing that I appreciate: with Jon Russell's departure to the other side of the country, I can be less concerned about continuing on as a PCO.  Russell was the only reason I wanted the gig... and with him leaving... well, it's going to be interesting.

So, underlying Russell's departure was a sense of relief on the part of many, including me. 

Now, Russell is attacking the current city council on his blog over the minutia where he thinks he can show both his superior knowledge and superior grasp of policy.

Here are the posts in question:

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Whose Meal Are You Paying For In Culpeper?  

In May of 2013, the Culpeper Town Council voted 7 to 2 in favor of increasing the town's meals tax.

Some estimates show the increase places Culpeper in the top 15% highest meals tax in Virginia. The meals tax increase is to generate $500,000 annually and will pay debt service on the town’s two-year-old police station and the inner loop road construction. 

However, when this tax increase was passed, the town had a $700,000 surplus from the 2012 general budget. The meals tax disproportionately hits people on a fixed income and as a result reduces the number of people able to eat in our local restaurants. 

I recently had a restaurant owner explain his frustration this way:

"They are taxing my customers to pay for a by-pass that will take customers around my business. This doesn't make sense" 

Another restaurant owner expressed a similar concern:

"I just started providing sandwiches for my customers about the same time as this meals tax increase hit. It has made my sandwiches too expensive for some people."

The common sense solution to this problem is for the council to repeal the the meals tax increase and put money back in the pockets of our citizens. This was obviously an overreach by the town and one that can be easily rectified.

Of course, it's likely that the anonymous restaurant owners are likely figments of Russell's imagination, given that he's done that... repeatedly.... before.  But that's not the point.

This is an effort by a guy who wants to whip up anger against incumbents, and then pick one off so he can get the gig... which has been his angle in Culpeper all along.

Fake people is the kind of thing he does.

 

Shortly after that snivelfest, he comes up with additional posts in a similar vein dated the 27th, the 29th, and the 30th.

 

This is a guy setting the table to run for city council.  And this blog is going to do all it can to inform the people of Culpeper exactly what they're getting.