Heads up: Penny Sweet, sweetheart of Kirkland and candidate for City Council, received thousands of dollars of State of Washington Unemployment compensation in 2008.

Yes, Penny Sweet, wife of a member of the state legislature, "retired" Group Health Administrator and owner of a prominent Kirkland business, making a second run as a 2009 candidate for Kirkland City Council, received Unemployment benefits. How? Why?

Many people legitimately receive unemployment benefits when they lose their job, and they depend on these funds in order to make ends meet until they can find another job. But was Penny entitled to receive this money from the State, with her employment and business ownership? And what role did her husband, Rep. Larry Springer (D-45th) play, as a state legislator who we entrust to protect our state treasury.

Either Penny has not been telling the voting public the whole truth about her "retirement" from Group Health or she has been overstating her prowess as the owner of a small business. No matter what, she has some serious explaining to do, to the public and possibly to the State of Washington, if she received unemployment compensation when she was not entitled to it.

In elite and not-so-elite Kirkland circles, Penny and Larry are as close as it gets to Camelot in Kirkland. Larry Springer is a former Mayor of Kirkland and is now a member of the State Legislature (D-45th). Penny, retired Group Health administrator, ran for Kirkland City Council in 2007 and lost by only 104 votes. She is running again this year, for the seat vacated by former Mayor and good friend Mary-Alyce Burleigh. Some consider Penny to be the heir apparent to Burleigh's seat.

Together, Penny and Larry have owned the Grape Choice wine shop for over 25-years, and they dominate the scene in downtown Kirkland, with their connections to the Kirkland Chamber, the Downtown Association, Kirkland Uncorked and the Harvest Supper Grape Stomp. And just ask anyone in Kirkland, Penny is the star of the show on July 4th with her "Celebrate Kirkland!" organization that runs a popular parade and fireworks display.

As a candidate for Kirkland City Council, Penny is required to file a financial disclosure F-1 form with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). The PDC does not link to these forms on their website, but a local blog, Kirkland Views, has a link to the F-1s and other PDC forms which were obtained for all of the candidates by a local activist group, CiViK

Look at Penny Sweet's F-1. She received between $4,000 and $20,000 in Unemployment Compensation during the year of the report (the PDC uses codes instead of actual dollar amounts.) The form also asks how the funds were earned, and she indicates "unemployed."

Really, Penny? Were you unemployed? You owned and operated your own business, for which, later in the same F-1 form, you indicate Code E, meaning over $100,000. This is just not adding up. How many weeks did she tell the State that she was unemployed and how much money did she receive from our state's treasury?

Unemployment is intended to help people meet expenses while they look for another job. Benefits are funded by taxes that are paid by Washington employers. This means that businesses of all sizes are paying into this system to protect people with real needs, and you and I are ultimately paying for these benefits as we purchase goods and services.

There are rules for getting unemployment. The first responsibility of anyone on unemployment, according to the State, is to get back to work as quickly as they can. If you've never seen the rules, they are on the Employment Security website and in an online "claims kit". Here they are as they seem to apply, or not apply, to Penny.

You have to be unemployed through no fault of your own - In other words, you can't quit your job voluntarily and then look to the state for an unemployment check. You have to either be fired, laid off, etc.

But Penny has said, over and over again, that she "retired" after a long career spanning more than 30 years as a Business Director for Group Health. In fact, in early January 2007 she told the Seattle Times that she was retiring later in the year. This all sends a nice message that Penny voluntarily ended her employment. It also sounds like it was a mutually agreeable and planned departure, you know, the kind with a party and parting gifts. And one which she would have had several months to plan for new employment if she didn't intend to completely retire.

You do not have other income - including income from self-employment - that would disqualify you - Remember, Penny Sweet and Larry Springer have owned the Grape Choice for over 25-years. When Penny left Group Health, even if the truth is that she was actually fired or laid off instead of the pleasant retirement she regularly refers to, she still had her own business of many years to provide her with income. In other words, she should have had income from the Grape Choice, the same business that she claims gives her small business experience and perspective that no other Council member can bring. And that income should have disqualified her from receiving unemployment.

The state's claims kit, Page 19, states that someone who is self-employed must estimate their net earnings and report it each and every week, and then at the end of the year must provide actual information to the state. The information in those reports would increase or decrease a person's benefits.

According to her F-1 filing, the Grape Choice business is a corporation called Burgundy Inc. that she and her husband "wholly own." Employment Security's website leads to the RCW and WAC, which say that you can't be "fired" from your own corporation and receive benefits based on those earnings, if you own at least 10% of the company. In this case, Penny and Larry own the entire company.

It raises all sorts of questions about Grape Choice. Wasn't the Grape Choice profitable at any time in 2007 or 2008? Remember, we are not talking about the latter part of 2008 when the economy went bust for so many. Penny left Group Health in the latter part of 2007, so it is the operations of late 2007 and early 2008 that would impact her ability to receive unemployment benefits. Was Burgundy Inc. profitable but chose not to pay Penny (which according to a phone call to the State, would disqualify her from benefits if the business was otherwise profitable)? Or if the business lost money, what were the expenses that brought it to a bottom-line loss?

Also, the State's instructions say "Remember that you must be actively seeking work and be able and available to accept full-time work with an employer while self-employed." Which leads to the next point: seeking work.

You are actively seeking work - even as a self-employed person, one must still be actively seeking suitable work, at least three times during each week.

Does anyone have a job application form from Ms. Sweet? Can she show proof that she sought bona-fide employment from at least 3 employers each week (which by the way, per state rules, cannot include anyone who she knew was not hiring) for the several weeks that she received benefits? Even in a worsening economy such as it was in 2008, it is hard to imagine that with Penny's resume' and charisma, if she was truly seeking bonafide employment, that she would not have received any acceptable job offers. Penny is so adored by Kirkland business owners, I can't imagine that if she went looking, that she could not have found a great job.

To review, for Penny to receive unemployment benefits: First she had to have been fired or laid off from Group Health, and she says she retired. If she was actually fired or laid off, then the retirement story has been puffery, to the Seattle Times and in her campaign. Second, if she was fired or laid off, then her self-employment could not have been profitable, which means she has been exaggerating about the success of her long-standing business. Or it means that the business was successful but she did not make full disclosure of her earnings to the State. And third, she also had to have been looking for work, actively, at least 3 times a week and she had to be prepared to accept suitable work. In Kirkland circles, she would have been hired in a minute and word that she was looking would have gotten around.

And there's one more test, credibility. That's not a test by the State, it's a test for the voters. Penny's states on her campaign website:

"The City of Kirkland is facing an enormous challenge with the current economic situation. My experience as a community activist, small business owner and director at a major healthcare provider will bring a valuable perspective to the Council. I have heard from many citizens that the decisions and actions of our City elected officials have caused them to lose trust in the public process. I will work hard to earn and keep the trust of my fellow Kirkland residents......Right now, what people care about and are talking about is economic recovery- jobs, making sure our businesses don't leave town or fail altogether. That requires fiscal responsibility by the city. The city should only spend on essential services, police, fire, public safety infrastructure - all else is second tier. In other words, we need to cut non-essential services........We are all going to have to do with less until we get through this. "
Larry Springer's website has interesting insights as well:

Clearly the budget deficit will be front and center as we try to improve K-12 funding and I continue my work on affordable housing. Continuing into his website: As a small business owner, I know what it's like to watch the bottom line. I'll work with employers large and small to protect existing jobs and bring new jobs to our region in growing areas like alternative energy, biotechnology, biofuels and emerging industries.
Interesting words from a couple, including a member of the Legislature, who received State unemployment dollars under these circumstances, and whose F-1 filing indicates that they were not in dire need, in fact they have a large amount of cash in the bank. How can we possibly trust these individuals with tax dollars and making decisions about what services are essential and which are not? How can Kirkland citizens elect Penny to their City Council this November, with a City is in financial upheaval, when Penny has demonstrated that her own financial gain takes precedence over the fiscal safety of our State's treasury? Their website quotes all make great sound-bites, about financial priorities and watching the bottom line, but their actions speak otherwise. I remind you, her husband is a State Legislator, who we hire to watch over our State's budget. How can this have happened?

And there's more. You may or may not know that the City of Kirkland is the largest single source of financial support for Celebrate Kirkland's activities. That's in addition to the amount listed on Penny's F-1, because she has omitted the amount (approximately $20,000) that the City paid directly to the fireworks vendor. In prior years, the City's grant has been larger, but this year they reduced the grant. And so Penny reached out to the community at large for the rest of the funds so that the fireworks display could continue. As Penny states on her blog, "A 4th of July without fireworks is like showing up for a birthday party and finding out there is no birthday cake." And many are unaware that the City has provided significant financial support for Kirkland Uncorked at which the Grape Choice receives financial benefits from a dominant sales presence. Why are these two items relevant? Because they are further demonstration that Penny's actions speak louder, much louder, than her words when it comes to prioritization of the use of government funds versus personal financial benefits, power and prestige.

What about Penny's opponent for City Council? It turns out that opponent Brad Larssen also received unemployment benefits during the same period. And he should also explain the circumstances, so that Kirkland voters know why he received those benefits. His story appears to be simpler and seems consistent with how he has presented his message and his background. Brad is not self-employed - he is a carpenter and he is a member of a Union. With the economy, it would not surprise me if most if not all union carpenters had breaks in work and pay during 2008. Carpenter's 131, of which Brad is a member, acts not only as a hiring hall to find employment for its members but also as a gatekeeper to be sure that members find and accept jobs, and they will "tattle" to the state if someone refuses a job. Quoting from the Union's website:
"The State of Washington Department of Employment Security requires the union to disclose when someone using the hiring hall is not available for dispatch or refuses a dispatch. All members of the Union must be advised that failure to be available for or refusal of dispatch may affect his or her eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. Any failure to be available for or refusal of a dispatch must be reported by both the member and the Union".
In other words, if Brad Larssen collected unemployment, he had to be genuinely unemployed and he had to be ready and willing to accept the next dispatch, or he would been out of work and ineligible for unemployment benefits.

As I wrote this, I kept coming back to words right out of the RCW itself:

"The public's right to know of the financing of political campaigns and lobbying and the financial affairs of elected officials and candidates far outweighs any right that these matters remain secret and private." RCW 42.17.010 (10)

We have a right to know about the financial affairs of these candidates. Penny Sweet and Larry Springer owe us an explanation and we must not accept glib answers or responses that tell us that what we really need to do is focus on the issues (which really means that the candidate wants the focus away from their own foibles and transgressions). And perhaps Brad Larssen's story is not as simple and innocent even though from all appearances, honest practices seem to prevail for him. The time has come for this information to be known to all so that the voters can know the truth and make good decisions when they vote in the upcoming election. And if Penny is not so Sweet after all, then we should know it now, well before election day.