{"id":2224002,"date":"2024-04-18T09:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T13:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-candidate-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-past-delinquent-child-support\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T09:38:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T13:38:18","slug":"gop-candidate-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-past-delinquent-child-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-candidate-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-past-delinquent-child-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican candidate faces backlash over accusations of unpaid child support in the past"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-candidate-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-past-delinquent-child-support%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2224002&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Center Square reports that among the\u2064 28 gubernatorial candidates registered with the Public Disclosure Commission, only one faces opposition through \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/megadonors-pour-record-amount-of-money-into-get-out-the-vote-effort-for-dems\/\" title=\"Megadonors Pour Record Amount of Money Into \u2018Get Out the Vote\u2019 Effort for Dems\">independent expenditures<\/a>. Former supporter Mike McKee launched Bird-Docs.com to reveal details \u200babout Republican candidate Misipati Semi Bird&#8217;s past actions, causing controversy. The opposition\u200c website\u200c is funded by the Concerned Taxpayers Accountability Center, led by Steve Gordon, who supports \u200canother candidate, Dave Reichert.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 While 28 candidates for governor have filed with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdc.wa.gov\/political-disclosure-reporting-data\/browse-search-data\/candidates?election_year=2024&#038;office=GOVERNOR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Public Disclosure Commission<\/strong><\/a>, only one is currently facing independent expenditures in opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Public records surfacing on past actions of Republican candidate Misipati Semi Bird have roused the ire of former supporter Mike McKee, who has set up a website at <a href=\"https:\/\/bird-docs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Bird-Docs.com<\/strong><\/a> to explain his change of heart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSemi is a phenomenal speaker and we talk the same language about school boards and the mess that our schools are in,\u201d McKee said last week. \u201cHe\u2019s a very knowledgeable guy. But I can\u2019t support him anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McKee said he has no ties to fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert or the Reichert campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Committees making \u201cindependent expenditures\u201d for or against any candidate or issue are required to register and report to the PDC. They are not permitted to communicate or coordinate with a candidate or a candidate\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdc.wa.gov\/political-disclosure-reporting-data\/browse-search-data\/independent-expenditures\/sponsors?sponsor_name=CONCERNED+TAXPAYERS+ACCOUNTABILITY+CENTER\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>PDC<\/strong><\/a>, the opposition website is funded by a $500 donation from the Concerned Taxpayers Accountability Center. The nonprofit corporation was formed and is controlled by Steve Gordon, who publicly supports Reichert for governor.<\/p>\n<p>When contacted, Gordon replied by email, stating, \u201cClaims\/docs have been circulating online for months amongst individual researchers and the media. All of it seemed credible, so when I was approached to put it all in one place for convention and primary voters to reference, I agreed to\u201d through the privately donor-funded research nonprofit he founded in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>McKee said he wasn\u2019t bothered at first by the recall vote that removed Bird from the Richland School Board in 2023 or the circumstances surrounding a court martial as a young man for assaulting an NCO.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the liens for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-craziest-recommendations-from-californias-reparations-task-force\/\" title=\"California's Reparations Task Force's Outlandish Suggestions\">delinquent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-cashes-in-with-book-deal-as-career-prospects-dwindle-child-support-payments-mount\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Cashes In with Book Deal as Career Prospects Dwindle, Child Support Payments Mount\">child support<\/a><\/a>,\u201d McKee explained. \u201cI stumbled onto those by accident and didn\u2019t know what to do with that because I\u2019d been defending Semi Bird. And then more problems kept turning up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most troubling to McKee was the contrast between the child support issues and Bird\u2019s personal story of being raised by a strong single mother after his father abandoned the family.<\/p>\n<p>Three liens for a total of $28,877.41 were filed between March 1995 and June 2001, and paid off in October 2001. According to a former regional administrator for Child Support Enforcement, filing liens was a tool used when someone is no longer communicating with the office and they have to play hardball.<\/p>\n<p>According to an emailed response from Norah West, assistant director of the Office of Communications and Government Affairs from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, \u201cLiens are a standard tool used by the Division of Child Support to secure past-due child support payments \u2026 however, that tool is not used to collect support on an ongoing monthly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked to comment on the child support documents posted on the <a href=\"http:\/\/bird-docs.com\/\">Bird-Docs.com<\/a> website, the Bird campaign emailed a copy of a letter addressed to delegates to the upcoming Washington State Republican Party convention, to be held this Thursday through Saturday in Spokane.<\/p>\n<p>The letter referred to an anonymous email to delegates and described it as \u201cdisturbing and slanderous.\u201d The Bird campaign response did not mention the website. Referring to the email, it said \u201cfor a Republican campaign to attack another Republican in this manner demonstrates a lack of human decency and civility that is required for the position of governor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A copy of the anonymous email was not made available.<\/p>\n<p>Answering questions after a Saturday speech in Republic, Reichert said he was unaware of the website. Reichert emphasized his intention to follow President Ronald Reagan\u2019s 11th Commandment throughout the campaign as he has in past campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m in this race to finish,\u201d Reichert said.<\/p>\n<p>Reagan, America\u2019s 40th president, adopted the 11th Commandment, \u201cThou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican,\u201d during a period of similar tension within the Republican Party following the 1964 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Asked for his advice to voters in an era of easy doxxing, Reichert relied on his experience as a former police officer and recommended looking for original sources and patterns of behavior in conducting research.<\/p>\n<p>In response to a similar request for comment, the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Ferguson, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nevada-trump-campaign-says-clark-county-registrar-joe-gloria-hiding-from-subpoena-service\/\" title=\"Nevada: Trump Campaign Says Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria Hiding From Subpoena Service\">state attorney general<\/a>, replied in an email \u201cthat voters should assess the reliability of all sources and avoid sources that engage in misinformation or disinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no response from the Mark Mullett campaign for governor. Mullet is a Democratic state senator from Issaquah.<\/p>\n<p>McKee said he had about dozen people helping him with the research behind <a href=\"http:\/\/bird-docs.com\/\">Bird-Docs.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can spend 3 minutes, 3 hours, or three days on the website and most people come to the same conclusion,\u201d McKee said. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to argue with court documents. The whole thing is an embarrassment to the party. I feel the damage is going to be long lasting.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecentersquare.com%2Fwashington%2Farticle_0f6c33c0-fce9-11ee-8315-eb74983c0c41.html%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_campaign%3Duser-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among the 28 gubernatorial candidates registered with the Public Disclosure Commission, one, Misipati Semi Bird, faces opposition through independent expenditures. Former supporter Mike McKee launched Bird-Docs.com after public records revealed details of Bird&#8217;s past actions, causing controversy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2224003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24023831911329-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2224002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24023831911329-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2224003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}