Karen Rispoli is the woman who ran against Ron Sims in last month's Democratic primary. A lifelong Democrat, this week she endorsed David Irons. Rispoli happens to be my neighbor. We frequent the same coffee house. I introduced myself to her a few weeks ago and we chatted for a bit. She has quite a story to tell.
Back in 1995-6 she worked at the King County Department of Youth Services, the juvenile jail facility. She raised concerns about the sexual abuse of inmates. In particular, that as a reward for good behavior, staff would tacitly allow the male inmates to rape female inmates. As a consequence for raising concerns about this, Rispoli was branded a troublemaker and fired. She settled with the county and took a job with Metro, which is also a county agency. [This 2001 Seattle Weekly article mentions her]. Although the problems she reported at DYS first occurred while Gary Locke was Executive, those problems, the cover-up and Rispoli's legal battle with the county continued under Sims.
Rispoli has alleged in recent years that Metro has also been retaliating against her as a result of her exposure of problems at DYS. She is now suing King County in federal court because of their mistreatment of her as a whistleblower. This declaration spells out some of these issues in greater detail. This document, which she just uncovered and referenced in her declaration, is a statement from a former colleague at DYS that corroborates what she alleged about the sexual abuse and the cover-ups.
Rispoli is not a seasoned politician. She tells me she ran against Sims for two main reasons: to raise her public profile in order to protect herself from retribution by the Sims administration, and more importantly to expose the abuse and corruption at the juvenile facility.
Rispoli is just the latest of many examples I keep finding of conscientious county employees who stand up to the mismanagement and corruption in the Sims administration and then face crippling retaliation from the Sims machine.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 21, 2005 09:33 AM | Email ThisOur new state modo should be:
"Washington- legalizing child rape, one politician at a time."
King County has a long history of persecuting employees who attempt to point out errors and/or problems in their department. A recent example (it's a long list) would be Nicole Way and KC elections.
A sad example is that 13 yr. old babysitter whose case was recently dismissed. Why is KOMO being allowed to broadcast that video? How did KOMO receive a copy of a police interview from the police department? Since it wasn't entered into court as evidence, why was it available to the public? Why can DSHS seal minor files, but the court can't or doesn't? Her parents should sue...where is the ACLU?
This is sick and wrong on so many levels, but are we really surprised? A republican Governor and King County Executive would be a good place to begin change.
Posted by: dl on October 21, 2005 10:42 AMI admitted these were unproven rumors, but with DSHS determined to block any type of investigation...who knows? The fact is several government employees admitted that sex between consenting or nonconsenting minors was allowed/encouraged on the premises, and then covered up. Since an investigation was squelched...who knows if it happened once or many times?
Have you no sympathy or pity for defensless children affected by wrongdoing? These are the truely disenfranchised children of society. Government secrets (outside of national security) only lead to bigger and darker secrets.
Get a life, get a brain, get whatever it takes to care about the weakest, most defenseless in our society...the children.
I thought libs were for the nanny state against big business. Now you are using big business to rationalize big brother raping minors! Beyond comprehension!
Please give one example of your accusation - that big business is empowering the rape of minors.
Posted by: fred on October 21, 2005 11:50 AMRon Sims weakness is that he relies on inexperience hired though the available pay scales. He is not essentially loyal to workers who put themselves on the line for his administration.
Strip out the middle management layer at the county, give the top levels "leaders" 10 years to establish some depth and you will have a better, less error prone government.
It's a bureaucracy after all. You could close King County down on Friday except for essential services and no one would notice the difference. The reason you can't save budget money that way is that Unions won't let you.
What this women is complaining about is fluff. I wouldn't even want to work with her. The fact that she decided to work for Metro shows that she is very naive. None of her co-workers would want to get dragged into one of her lawsuits. These people are common in government work. Constantly looking to win a lawsuit lotto instead of actually trying to solve the problem. She should have turned herself into a good leader and fixed the part of DYS she worked with.
If you think this type of stuff hasn't been mentioned before and people aren't actively involved at leadership levels trying to instill some work values into people. You are mistaken. The problem is that the people working at the county have feet of clay. 15,000 employees. some of them are going to be criminals. There is a process to finding them and weeding them out, so they can come work next to you in your job.
Posted by: holt on October 21, 2005 12:57 PMBut, something you ought to go after, Shark, are the baseless accusations made at horses ass and picked up by the Seattle PI (in a long article, I might ad), that David Irons is guilt of domestic abuse.
Charges of domestic abuse fall under the realm of Nepoleonic law: guilty until proven innocent. They want to smear Irons with domestic abuse hysteria, and they've found that it works because nobody stands up and calls BS on this sort of thing.
Actually, feminists have been painting all men as guilty of abuse simply because they are supposedly members of this secret social club called "the patriarchy." Men are thus born guilty. This has been so effective for them (with Jim Crow type laws like VAWA) that now they are using false allegations as a tactic in political races.
Call BS on it!
Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on October 21, 2005 12:59 PMFLUFF?
Putting males into female areas to rape them is FLUFF?
It is CRIMINAL and those male workers who are selling those girls need to be prosecuted!
And make no DAMN mistake, they are selling them for good behavior.
Crap like this needs to be exposed for exactly what it is on The Factor and everyother major new network in America.
Posted by: sgmmac on October 21, 2005 01:12 PM...SUCH AS THE THURSTON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BILLING $90/HR for 3 HOURS. THE SERVICE? COLLECTING $90 AND PRINTING A MANDATORY PERMIT TO FLUSH YOUR TOILET.
I kid you not. Thanks environmentalists...you certainly know how to make friends among homeowners.
As per the child rape case. The cover ups of these scandals run long and deep among democrats. As per DSHS- please dismantle this blood sucking entity and rebuild it from the ground up with mandatory 3rd party audits.
I always thought the dems (Simms, Gregoir, etc) were out to defend the little guy. This is what they stand for. But you blame budget problems (like all good dems - more money, more money...). If protecting the down trodden is a priority then what has higher priority than protecting girls in the state's custody? Something must, as you say there isn't enough money left over after all the higher priority items have been paid for. What are they? Why are there items of lower priority being paid for if this cannot be done even close to a reasonable fashion. Having state employees forcing girls into sex. That sure sounds like a form of slavery to me.
But as usual it is the republican's fault for not letting the government have all our money.
Posted by: fred on October 21, 2005 01:59 PMhttp://sycophants.info/ok21.html
Posted by: Gil on October 21, 2005 03:32 PMSick.
Posted by: Ted Bundy on October 21, 2005 04:37 PMThose are horrible accusations, and if true, they obviously are (another) big reason to dump Sims.
But are you really sure you should be circulating them without further proof? You've been very careful and detailed up to this point with everything, but as a big Republican and big Rossi guy etc. This seems to me to be a bit unwise. Maybe my Communications: Journalism degree from WSU is talking too loudly...but this really seems like something you should have a litte bit more proof for before spreading it.
-Selling brains without family approval
-The entire elections system (for years)
-CAO
-METRO
-now...child rape
Now explain to me why we should re-elect Ron Sims
Posted by: foothills freak on October 21, 2005 05:32 PMMy honest impression: She sounds like a complete whackjob to me.
Irons' sister is on, refuting everything her mother is saying.
Beeeeeeeeeezaaaaaarre.
Poor Dave. Getting smeared by your own mother a few weeks before a big election has to suck.
And, ON topic - nothing would surprise me about Ron Sims. Nothing.
Posted by: Renee on October 21, 2005 05:39 PMA>Both are corrupt Bathist tyrannies complete with rape rooms.
Now she's going after her daughter's professional life.
("M is for the many things you gaaaaave me..." LOL)
What a fruitcake!
Posted by: Renee on October 21, 2005 05:48 PMThere is something truly wrong in this state with regard to DSHS and Child Services.... As a Mother, it just strikes me as extremely odd when I read the hundreds of names of children who are taken from their parents each year and sent into Foster care or put up for adoption! Something is going on.
Law enforcement records just don't jive with this much abuse or neglect by parents here. Why are these kids being removed from their homes? Why are so many children in these OK Ranch situations? Why are so many kids in Juvenile Detention? Are they being sent there from a forced foster care situation?
I believe there IS something deep and dark going on in our state with regard to our children and sexual exploitation and rape...and if Ron Sims or Gregoire is found to be involved...losing an election will be the least of their worries!
Parents? This should be a wake up call. This is why you do not want Democrat *Nanny's* in office in this state! They feel they own your children and now we know what they want them for....
This fits right in with the liberal Democrats not wanting parents to be notified of pending abortions for their minor daughters...
This makes my blood boil!
Posted by: Deborah on October 21, 2005 06:51 PMlevel three sex offenders should never get back on the street, levels two's should be forever monitored. Level ones should shouldn't be the dumping ground for all sex crimes. it should be for ones invloving rape, and child abuse that don't fall under level 2 or 3.
people working with children or with women in incarceration should have passed a rigorus screening process. You need to include mental institutions and old folks homes. $10 an hour guards are more abusive than $20 an hour guards. but it's easier to hire the $10 an hour guard
It's easy to see, but politicians don't like to address these areas because these people don't have a complainnig group representing them. E.G. is the homeless advocates , who shout a lot and try and get more funds steered their way.
Maybe the county should allow all inmates to blog while they are incarcerated. Maybe some interesting stuff will show up.
Posted by: holt on October 21, 2005 07:01 PMSince she is still under stress she is definitely not a bus driver candidate. That is about the worst stressful job she can take. I find it hard to believe that the county is letting her drive. she should be moved to a desk job until everthing is settled.
DYS has had heads roll a few times. I can't say that those events never happened, but surely there must be some first person accounts. Neither EB nor Rispoli seem that reliable to me.
sorry I think Rispoli has some delusions that she explains off to gullible people wishing to hear something dicy. She will do ok in courts before authorities, but get a few beers in her and she will be off the wall and you will see her how she really is.
Posted by: holt on October 21, 2005 07:28 PMI have no idea who you are....Never saw you post here before this story.....Your post's make me wonder about your agenda with the Rispoli case.... You seem to know just enough about Child Services...(more than the average layman..) to make me suspicious...
I just read through both Pdf's and saw nothing that would suggest Rispoli is a nutcase. In fact - her story rings of classic whistleblower revenge. She blew the whistle on the Department of Youth Services and was smeared badly! Then she transferred within the county to Metro where her smear continued. Unfortunately - her story is not unique. Especially when you are employed by government agencies and unions.
Rispoli's charge was backed up by another employee at DYS. This employee also was very scared and concerned about her name getting out.
I suggest everyone take the time to read through these Pdf's. The information in them is quite alarming and revealing as to how sick our local governments run their child services departments!
This should be on the front page of every news paper in the state! Now I see why Gregoire, as Attorney General, purposely screwed up on her filing time with the lawsuit from the boys at the OK boys ranch....She was basically paying them off via legal *inaction* - allowing them to win the settlement.......She didn't want to win this case and have all of the nasty details go public in the appeal process.
King County is full of sick, perverse and incredibly corrupt employees! This has to warrant a federal investigation.....(The liberals can't even deny it because.."it's for the children"..)
Posted by: Deborah on October 21, 2005 09:53 PMThese supervisors and management at DYS must be tried and convicted and registered as sex offenders themselves!
They didn't merely look the other way when these rapes were occurring - they set them up as a system of reward for male inmates! That makes the employees brokers in the rape process....Worse than Pimps because the girls and boys weren't willing participants!
Did anyone Catch David Irons and Ron Sims on KCTS Conmects last night? Ronnie lost his temper again. "excuse me, excuse me....."
boy oh boy, Irons brought up the election dept and the CAO s'all. If everything is so good, why does Ronnie get SO defensive?
PS, someone I work with met Crissy and say's she's a SMOKER!!!!! If true, how ironic. Big Evil tobacco huh? LOL
Posted by: chardonnay on October 21, 2005 11:38 PMunder paid, ya right.
Have you ever contracted with King County and tried to get paid? Please, dont get me started. Worse yet, City of Seattle and Seattle School District.
IT IS THE ENTIRE MENTALITY OF "ENTITLED" EMPLOYEES & ELECTED OFFICIALS WITHIN GOV'T AGENCIES.
Posted by: chardonnay on October 21, 2005 11:48 PMRon Sims -- friendly and competent -- bats left and throws left
David Irons -- knowledgeable but inexperienced.
Brian Derdowski -- incompetent
Just my opinion, I am sure there is someone that likes Brian Derdowski somewhere.
i've worked in goverment before, and so many citizens are just plain a-holes when dealing with people. Why would one want to give them the time of day? Because it's my job? Well there is a bit of Quid Pro Quo there. You have to be somewhat polite first. The wheels are going to turn slower if you are not.
I used to be such a big believer in integrity, until I started meeting politicians who were unable to stop from politicizing every aspect of their life. They stop being real people. Maybe that is a good reason to vote all incumbents out.
Posted by: holt on October 22, 2005 02:24 AMThis is rich. Reminds me of Sharkansky's passionate defense of former KC elections manager, Julie Ann Kempf, a barely sane and unstable hack whose incompetence and "medical leaves" started the erosion of the KC elections office. Now, the fact that Kempf was arrested after nearly running over a police officer (I thought Republicans were for law and order) never seemed to stand in the way of Sharkansky defending her, holding her up as some kind of Sims-victimized martyr.
Rispoli sounds like a disturbed and digruntled ex-jail guard and metro bus driver, blaming Sims for problems which occured during the Locke Administration. Her candidate questionaires reveal she is a nutty, new age lefty into butterflies, the environment, social justice, public transit and light rail. So why would she support Irons, when he opposes everything she supposedly stands for - especially given the fact that Irons supported the two statewide initiatives that gutted funding for criminal justice and transit?
Well, the answer is pretty simple.
When some people lose their jobs, they move on. (some continue to focus on reforming the wrongs they see, rather than skipping all over the place, to all kinds of different professions and issues) Others (like the Frye Apartments maniac on Pine St.) get obsessed, and never let go, no matter what. Rispoli is clearly in this category.
I wonder if Rispoli realizes she is just a tool? You think Sharkansky really believes she is a "conscientious county employee?" A new-agey left wing nut from Green Lake land who represents everything Sharkansky hates? C'mon.
I wonder when Sharkansky might find the next disgruntled crazy to fit in his latest moonbat conspiracy theory? By the end, Shark will have surrounded himself with only unbalanced people.
Maybe we see a budding political movement?
Too bad the LaRouchies already beat you to it, Shark.
Posted by: WeNeedRoadsAndTransit on October 22, 2005 03:18 PMUntil then, this is just more detritis for the bottom-feeding dogshark.
Posted by: Third Party Voter on October 22, 2005 03:22 PMThe numerous troll post's in this piece alone - cause me to believe Rispoli's claims against DYS are probably true and only scratching the surface...
holt? Thirdpartyvoter? Roadsandtransittroll?
What are you guys so afraid of??
Wade on in here - the trollin's fine!
Posted by: alphabet soup on October 22, 2005 08:04 PMThe leftist mantra is deny, deny - delay, delay - attack, attack. The trolls are in the denial mode to be followed shortly by the delay mode. Of course these trolls don't want Irons to win, because its personal to them - they'd rather stick with the stench that makes King County the third most corrupt county in the US for elections. All in all, this says ZERO for their character.
Posted by: KS on October 22, 2005 10:18 PMspank!
Posted by: Deborah on October 22, 2005 10:47 PMWhat is "way up in the county" She attributes statements to her supervisors that she is being persecuted. She is shocked she has never met them. There is some conspiracy out to get her.
She is saying she was shot at and a county official is harassing her on her bus. Whereever she seems to go a county dark cloud seems to find her. She brought down a Union, cost the county a millions of dollars. Did the Seattle Times just think all this was not very important? hmmm maybe there is a hint there for those of you unsure.
She has a fitness for duty ok in 1994 but not in 2005 after quite a few King County managers refer to her as paranoid. If they let her drive and have those opinions of her, that is a huge liability for the county.
her lawyers hide EB information from her?
i read it again and all I really have to say is that it's pure BS and she is someone suffering from a paranoia complex and is masking it by projecting her fears onto her work area. I don't think that that operation is uncommon with people who suffer from paranoia. You do her a deep disservice by energizing her fears. There were indeed problems at DYS. I doubt if those problems are still there. There was a King County guard caught torturing and abusing a woman at his home. He was fired. Never heard if he went to jail.
I've talked to a lot of paranoid schizophrenics. Well 6, that's a lot for me. She sounds just like them to me, except she is missing the schizophrenic component. Being over litigious about exagerated wrongs committed by an authority figure is one possbile symptom. Things will only get worse for her by going back to work at Metro. People in this situation want to punish themselves sometimes in their search for what is right. I do believe she wants truth, but just not the type of truth that she wants to find in her lawsuits.
Most of the people she mentions, were just people unfortunate to cross her path and had to learn how to deal with her. The fact that they commonly say "paranoid" should give her reason to pause and right herself. It sounds like she is afraid of being stigmatized. But in actuality, paranoia is very common in society. It's dehablitating effects can be addressed. She could actually be productive.
For those of you thinking the local governments are corrupt. wrong wrong wrong. It's negligence not corruption that causes these snafu's. They are only as corrupt as you are. A David Iron's in office won't change that.
Well best of luck to her anyway.
Posted by: holt on October 23, 2005 02:37 AMIt has been pounded into our collective conscience that we lose the right to complain if we fail to vote. Therefore, voting, the process by which we state our desires for the complexion of our government is paramount and must be protected at all costs.
sims's response to the avalanche of failures within the elections department in KC has been pure deny, delay, and attack. His "effective countermeasures" have been nothing more than window-dressing. When you know of the negligence, and you allow it anyway, that's corruption!
To presume that David Irons would similarly treat incompetence and negligence is to imply that "there ain't a lick of difference between them" and that's just plain foolish. You don't know, so you shouldn't say.
As to your diagnosis of Rispoli - I have no degree in Psychology, so I can't really judge, but I would be inclined to agree with your statement "But in actuality, paranoia is very common in society." In order to be a liberal, one must live in denial of the reality around them. I would imagine that it is a small step from a state of constant denial to a state of delusion.
I wish her well, as well.
Posted by: alphabet soup on October 23, 2005 09:23 AMCasual people have told me twice that they voted Democratic more than once in the election. They weren't caught. So statistics would imply that quite a few people in King County voted more than once. I would say it's at least two per precinct then. And probably more. I have never met a Republican that has claimed to have voted twice. The twice voters are a lessor type of animal. It would be better to get rid of them.
moveon would certainly not hesitate to game an election if it was to their favor.
Posted by: holt on October 23, 2005 05:39 PM-She has a fitness for duty ok in 1994 but not in 2005 after quite a few King County managers refer to her as paranoid. If they let her drive and have those opinions of her, that is a huge liability for the county.-
Paranoid? No wonder the far right has welcomed her into their camp! I'm surprised neither Deborah and KS aren't recommending that this woman in pursuit "of the real truth!" www.seattleweekly.com/features/ 0536/050907_news_endorsements.php get back behind the wheel of her bus! But then again, I doubt either would be caught dead on public transit, so who cares if we have crazy people operating Metro buses, right? As long as those crazy people's crazy voices can be cut and edited together to make her sound sane enough for a David Irons radio ad (you won't see her on tv!)
Posted by: WeNeedRoadsAndTransit on October 24, 2005 12:34 AMThere was the Republican party headquarters in Florida and Washington State that were vandalized by Democrats. Van tires slashed on Election day by Democrats in Michigan. Those stories are all in the MSM widely documented. It leads me to think that democrats don't value democracy that much.
In reagards to seeking truth. The seeker has to be truthful first before truth comes their way.
Posted by: holt on October 24, 2005 07:41 PMOh boy, holt is obsessed with digging his hole even deeper. Never fails.
There was also a break-in at GOP hq in Bellevue last year - how's come you didn't include this in your list of baseless claims, clown?
Maybe because there was never any evidence to back up the silly SP conspiracy theory that Gregoire and Barendt teamed up to do these dasterdly deeds, the same way they "gamed the system?" If I recall correctly, there was a GOP operative named Allen Raymond who was convicted of jamming Kerry phone lines and spent some time in the slammer for it. Which Democrat went to jail for "slashing those tires," kiddo?
My god. If I wanted to destroy your credibility any more than you already have, it would be a tough order to fill, wouldn't it, holt?
Posted by: AmazedByRightWingHate on October 25, 2005 12:42 AMDon't forget you always become what you hate.
Just one example. They are easy to find.
http://www.yuricareport.com/Strategies_Propaganda/ReportRevealsMassiveDemoVoterFraud.html
You're living in denial if you can't distance yourself from it.
Posted by: holt on October 25, 2005 04:28 AMI'd like to know how many of you have actually met Ron Sims or David Irons. I've met and shook hands with both of them, and I can tell you from first hand experience my impressions of each man.
Ron is a kind, intelligent, and caring individual who has the best interest of his constituents always on the forefront of his agenda. He has a proven track record of fighting for noble humanitarian causes and of being a bipartisan leader.
David, whom has his merits, I found to be a condescending, rude, abrupt and vitriolic person who obviously has an agenda that he wishes to pursue. Which brings me to my point, who would you rather have in office?
On one side you have a man who puts the needs of the local citizens above all else when establishing and initiating public policy. On the other you have a man who is self serving, and apparently working for special interests groups when involved in policy making.
It's not my job to educate you, so I sight no examples. If you don't believe me, do some research and find out for yourself. If you choose to remain in the dark, that is entirely up to you. But continuing with this rumor banter and following the lead of the idiocy that spawned this and so many other threads is ludicrous. You do yourself and your community a disservice by aiding in the spreading of these untruths.
Now to preempt your disregard of my post as being a democratic_sims_fanboy rambling, I can tell you, I have no political agenda, I am aligned with no political party, and my only concern is that we have proper representation in the elected offices that we vote for.
I don't believe many people wake up in the morning and say what can I do to irk off as many (take your pick [republicans or democrats]) today. Not many people are out-to-getcha as some may and do think. Of course there are exceptions, as there are no absolutes, but all in all, people are, for the most part, good. If people were as bad as some of us make them out to be, this society would have failed a long time ago. David Irons may not be as bad as his mom and family make him out to be, and Ron Sims may not be as bad as some of you make him out to be. For the most part, any judgment we pass on these two people is, for the most part, speculation; which brings me full circle to my original point.
If you are so genuinely concerned with the well being of the masses, why are you not doing anything about it? I now of several issues you could tackle that would probably distract you from your boring lives so much that you would forget about the nonsense posted on this page. If your concern is for young women, then why not fight for the hundreds of thousands that are subjected to female circumcision at the age of 12 and 13 in many of the Islamic/Arab nations around the world. Imagine being a young girl, just coming into puberty, only to have your sexuality and any hopes of ever experiencing pleasure, literally carved away from your body. Or, how about the hundreds of thousands of people being murdered in a genocide that is currently going on in north-eastern Africa, what would you do to save them? Or, how about the 10,000 kids who starve to death every day because there is not a spec of food or water for them to eat or drink, what will you do for them? The list is long, the suffering is wide spread, and the help is scant and waning. Yet, here you are squabbling over whether or not Sims or Irons is the more evil, and a rumor of allegations to which there is little or no proof. Way to go...you're really making a difference.
In the end, will it matter how many lives you've touched, saved, and made better through your actions? Not everyone can get humanitarian of the year, but, ask yourself, is what I am doing now going to make a difference for the better? Well, is it? I think it better to involve yourself with concerns that matter, don't you?
Well, Stefan just exposed the use of a government computer to campaign for Ron Sims. I'd say that's pretty good.
Posted by: ScottM on October 28, 2005 12:20 PMI agree with the BSHO sims/irons analysis. But the one of the first step to making society better is for Ron Sims to express integrity in the Sharansky lawsuit and not obsfucate on purpose. It's a bad political habit. A test of political character. BSHO, there are enough people who feel disenfranchised by the election fiasco. Ron Sims has the opportunity to correct that. Else all his good work gets tainted. Elections becomes his rotten apple in a barrel project.
ipconfig /?
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
or better yet
http://www.anonymizer.com/
Posted by: holt on October 29, 2005 01:16 AM