Pakootas accused of using 'bogus endorsements' to get votes

Yesterday (July 7), I attended a candidate forum set up by the League of Women Voters in Spokane. It was televised. Dave Wilson, Joe Pakootas, and Tom Horne were the only candidates present who are running for the 5th District of the U.S. Congress.

When Wilson had a turn to speak he asked the speaker from the LWV if they had indeed endorsed Pakootas as a candidate as was listed on Pakootas’s website. The woman said that the League of Women Voters do not endorse any political candidates. They are a non-profit charity organization and can lose their non-profit status by endorsing political candidates.

Pakootas just sat there and said nothing. He didn’t even apologize. He was using bogus endorsements to get votes. As it turns out there are several other non-profit organizations listed on his website which are also bogus endorsements. For me, lying to voters is disgusting and not acceptable behavior. I feel we have enough dishonest and corrupt members in Congress. I was so proud that Wilson challenged Pakootas’s lack of integrity.

The people of the 5th District of Congress deserve a candidate that is honest. For me, both Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Pakootas lack the integrity to represent the voters of the 5th District in Congress. It is time for voters to vote out corruption!

Janet C. Smith

Spokane

(Editor’s note: A check of the Pakootas website on July 9 showed no reference to an endorsement made by the League of Women Voters.)