The Reichert campaign e-mailed a list of issues on which they claim Darcy Burner has never stated her position.
These are fair questions and I welcome a response from the Burner campaign.
Also, I recently wondered aloud whether anybody could vouch for Darcy's claim that she was a "successful businesswoman" and could explain
what she was actually responsible for [at Microsoft], how well she worked with people, how effective she was at selling her ideas, and what she ultimately accomplished.I got 3 testimonials for Darcy in the comments. One from "Prometheus" (Massachusetts IP address) and one from someone with a New York IP, neither who knew Darcy at Microsoft. The third was from "Don23". His email matches a real person who works at Microsoft and lives in the district. But he didn't explain what Darcy did at Microsoft either. Still waiting. Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 06, 2006 02:52 PM | Email This
New comment that New York has 77,000 dead voters.
They never mentioned the duplicate retirees that live in Florida, which would be a real interesting number.
Posted by: swatter on November 6, 2006 03:02 PMActually, I'm not going to vote for Reichert. I can't. I don't live in his district. But many people who read this site do live in the 8th district, and I'm sure many of them still have open minds.
By the way, I notice that you're posting from a Microsoft IP address. So it's fair to say that Burner does have some supporters at MSFT. But can you tell us about her accomplishments as a "successful businesswoman"?
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on November 6, 2006 03:02 PMThat's what really bothers me. She's produced nothing of substance and yet has a marginal chance of winning.
You have a middle of the road Rep in what is supposed to be an increasingly even district, and he hasn't blown away a political gnat like Burner.
That alone is enough to make this a sad day in WA politics.
Posted by: scott158 on November 6, 2006 03:14 PMThere are plenty of people who I've worked with that I would never give an endorsement for, even though I would not overtly come out with negative statements. From what I've been able to gather, Ms. Burneris a difficult person who has not made many real allies at Microsoft, in her Ames Lake neighborhood or in the larger 8th district.
Absent any other evidence, it must be true that Darcy Burner is simply running on a national Democrat anti-Bush platform. Amazing that Democrats can't find a better quality candidate, especially in a Blue State like WA. It says a lot about Democrats as a whole both in terms of their ability to attract charismatic leadership, and in their ability to strategize and pick winners. Rahm Emmanuel is going to go down as a big loser.
Note that David Goldstein is already declaring himself a winner, even if Burner and Goldmark lose. Sounds like he's buttressing for failure. It fits the Democrat world view well. Naive. Like children's level sports, they don't keep track of the score and everyone is a winner no matter what happens.
I'd suggest the alternate explanation of cognitive dissonance. Endemic (or pandemcic) on the left.
Posted by: scott158 on November 6, 2006 03:31 PMPeople who read a local GOP political site where they sit around and trash Burner at least once a day (Oooh did she once vote GOP, scandalous!!) are going to vote for her based on the info you provide here? They might be opened minded, on here? ROFL!!
Yup, posting from an MS address. MS is a big place (40k people in Redmond alone), can't say I ever worked for her or know anyone who did. Can't help you there.
So why are you still here Cato?
I'm here because once in a while someone makes a good point. I think the last was was by Tyler Durden about 3 days ago. I enjoy free speech, that's why I'm still here (whether you agree with it or not). =)
Posted by: Cato on November 6, 2006 03:32 PMNow maybe I am splitting hairs but as someone who actually owns a business and is responsible for paying the employees and the taxes, I have an issue when someone who is an employee, a "lead manager" or "product manager" or whatever calls themselves a businessperson.
So I did what I always do when I have a question of a politician.... I called her office. I simply asked if Ms. Burner's claim that she was a successful business person referred to her work at Microsoft since I did not see anything else in her bio that mentioned she ran a company or owned a business. The reply was she was an executive at Microsoft. I replied she was an employee but did not run the business and asked again if she had ever run a company or owned a business. After checking with additional staff I was told she worked for a number of high tech companies including being an executive at Microsoft but had never owned a company.
Posted by: Steve on November 6, 2006 03:54 PMI even called her office and they just said it wasn't us. I asked if the ads were done for her gain. Click goes the phone line.
I don't know how she can defend these actions as soemeone who made money from intellectual property or how she can do right by a district and a state which relies greatly on copyright law for so many jobs.
Think of her trying to tell China to stop ripping off software when she has no problem with the WSDCC raping Mr. Yon's work.
Posted by: Doug Dobbins on November 6, 2006 05:01 PMShe was a product manager - hardly an executive job. I went to a church for a long while - by her standards I guess that means I'm the pope.
What a laugh.
Posted by: johnny on November 6, 2006 06:53 PMNot a chance, but why are you two here, maybe because the you two have nothing to cheer for over at HA?
I see Goldy has almost closed up shop over there. He is quoted as looking for another Job?
Jeez, I would think you both would be begging for him to Stay......
Posted by: chris on November 6, 2006 06:59 PMAll the new discussions of what she did at Microsoft is irrelevant, if you believe the following, which Stefan has never published on this blog, although I gave him this information.
In November 2003, Darcy Burner posted a bio of her family on the Ames Lake Community Web Site, (only available to community members) wherein she portrayed herself and her husband as "itinerant tech workers".
Maybe she was trying to "play down" her Microsoft "wealth" to the community that includes double wides, people with chickens in their yards, and even someone who has pigs and llamas. Maybe she wanted us to like her.
Only she knows why she would portray herself in that manner.
However, if she went from "itinerant tech worker" to "executive" or "successful business woman" in the span of a year and a half, I ask you, open minded people to ponder which is the lie.
And why the lie.
Posted by: ameslaker on November 6, 2006 07:34 PMMy connection to Darcy is through personal connections so you should consider it more of a character reference than professional. Beyond reviewing a couple of PowerPoint slides in an airport I did not have the pleasure of working with her. I can say that she is smarter than most people that I have met - even at Microsoft.
In many ways the election is meant to determine who is fit for the job. Consider that Darcy has raised $3 million dollars and become competitive in a district that has never elected a Democrat. It was not too long ago that the republican party considered this district out of reach and in spite of millions spent to find and and broadcast her every flaw (and make up a few in the process) she has kept on going and made this a real race.
I was also talking to a friend Friday who has worked with Darcy and he is more conservative than most of you. He told me that she has "restored his faith in America." But of course this is hearsay.
Sorry I can't help more.
Posted by: Don23 on November 6, 2006 08:24 PMDarcy is a nice woman, but nobody at MS considers her a "business woman" of any stripe.
Most people we know think Darcy is running against the President and hopefully soon, someone in her party will tell her that Bush isnt running again :-)
Posted by: Ann on November 6, 2006 08:57 PM"Darcy is a nice woman, but nobody at MS considers her a "business woman" of any stripe"
Darcy is only nice if you agree with her. If you don't, she screams profanities and calls you names.
Trust me, I know.
And that is why she is not fit to serve in Congress.
Posted by: ameslaker on November 6, 2006 09:29 PMHere's her bio from that paper:
Darcy Gibbons Burner (dburner@microsoft.com) is a marketing manager in Microsoft's eCommerce marketing organization. She has worked on development environments for a wide variety of operating systems and programming languages at companies such as CenterLine® Software, Lotus® Development, and Asymetrix®, where she has been a system administrator, developer, trainer, and product manager. Darcy has a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard University.
Her self-described title is "marketing manager" which is hardly an executive position. Had Burner told Microsoft's customers that she was an executive for the company she probably would have been reprimanded or with the greater focus on business ethics at the company these days, possibly terminated.
Does any of this mean that she doesn't have what it takes to represent the 8th district? Maybe to some, but I'm more concerned about her lack of experience compared to Reichert, as well as the seemingly majority of her support coming from outside the 8th. I'm voting for someone who will represent me and my neighbors here on the Eastside, not the people in Seattle or San Francisco.
See y'all at the polls!
Not the ones I've met...not even close.
Posted by: alphabet soup on November 6, 2006 10:26 PMDigging through public documents I found that she worked for a small group, but didn't really contribute largely to any product or development cycle.
Darcy Burner was also part of the Hoppers organization which is a feminist group for women in the technical field. She chaired the organization up until 2004. Some of the meeting minutes contain discussions on equality in the work place for women at Microsoft. Some of the demands they were pushing on Microsoft to make the work place more 'Perfect for Women' reads more like a chore list for servants. I am surprised they didn't ask for all men to be wiped from the face of the planet. Here is the list word for word:
If Microsoft were the perfect workplace for women...
We did a brainstorming session about what Microsoft would be like if it were the perfect workplace for women, and here's what we came up with:
• There would be a higher percentage of women here, and equal representation in the VP-and-above ranks; the next Steve Ballmer will be a woman.
• People who needed to take time off for family - whether maternity leave or flexible schedules, could get it in a consistent way.
• We won't have to have discussions like this; women will be on equal footing.
• We would help recruit and retain women in technical fields at Microsoft - there would be more women in technical fields than now.
• There will be a day-care on site for people who wanted it.
• There would be an onsite concierge in each building who would take care of dropping off and picking up drycleaning; you could pick up evening meals on your way out the door; if you needed a housecleaner, they would make the arrangements for you.
• There would be female game designers down at Xbox.
• You wouldn't have to worry about looking feminine and being taken as somebody from marketing if you were technical.
• There would be a way to get to and from work conveniently without transportation problems.
• You would never wonder whether you were passed over for a promotion because you were a woman.
• People could job share or work from home and not be thought less of.
• When we recruit women in technical positions, we'd distribute them equally among technical positions instead of just putting them all in test.
• You'd never be told in a review that you were "too aggressive" or "not aggressive enough".
• Women coming into Microsoft would have a mentor by default; when you got hired you would have someone who was female who you were assigned to. (But if everything was perfect, we wouldn't need mentors!)
• Funding for women's issues or conferences wouldn't be difficult to attain.
• Women in the field could come and spend some time with the product groups to understand how the products are made, and could use that opportunity to network with other women.
• There would be active work to address male-female differences in management relationships - managers would be trained to recognize male-female differences and not consider the female differences fundamentally inferior.
• Diversity of perspective would be truly valued.
As if men don't have don't have these problems...I suppose Darcy believes that only women have problems these days.
If Darcy Burner truly believed in equality, then candidates, like Ballmers replacement, would be judged on their merits...not their sex.
Posted by: Anonymous MS Insider on November 6, 2006 10:47 PMWhat? Reichert gets support from the district alright, Clyde Hill, Medina, Hunts Point. George Bush had an overpriced luncheon for her. Karl Rove advised him on his campaign. Burner nickled and dimed her way to 3 million. I think Burner is more concerned with the district than Reichert.
Now don't put words in my mouth, Burner also received money from some special interest groups outside the district, but it's absolute folly to say that Reichert did not!