FOR ÌMMEDÌATE RELEASE

July 29, 2012

CONTACTS
Brian Robinson
ArenaSolution.org
206-349-6447
brian@arenasolution.org

Lee Newgent
Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council
206-251-2959
lee@seattlebuildingtrades.org
Erik Van Rossum
UNÌTE HERE Local 8
253-208-1306
erik@unitehere8.org
Arena proponents denounce Port's unethical smear campaign
Union leaders and arena supporters decry anti-arena mailers and emails
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Union leaders today joined proponents of a new arena proposal that could lead
to the return of the NBA and NHL to Seattle in demanding that Port of Seattle officials, the
Ìnternational Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 52 (ÌLWU) and their allies end an unethical
smear campaign in their opposition to the arena plan. Faced with an absence of facts from the Port
of Seattle, it appears that the Maritime Ìndustrial Commission (MÌC) and ÌLWU have sanctioned and
contributed to a deliberately misleading campaign executed by a government agency using public tax
dollars.
An organization calling itself Save Our Sodo sent an incendiary anti-arena mailer to citizens last
week using blatant scare tactics to oppose the arena proposal without including any substantive
information. The mailer features visual imagery of a puppeteer pulling strings and unfounded
rhetorical statements with no factual basis such as, "The Sodo arena will bankrupt Seattle Center...
(and) put the jobs at the Port of Seattle docks at risk by traffic gridlock..." sent from the address of
ÌLWU operative Max Vekich.

Arena supporters today released this mailer along with a series of emails and documents showing
evidence of arena opponents intentionally spreading misinformation and being dishonest in their
recent efforts to defeat the SoDo arena proposal. These documents are available for media members
to downIoad now here. Alternatively, please send a request to info@arenasolution.org and we will
email you copies of these documents (please see additional background information for context on
these documents below).
Union leaders and arena proponents today issued the following statements:
Lee Newgent, Executive Secretary of the SeattIe BuiIding and Construction Trades CounciI:
"When unions compete for jobs, there is an expectation that they will do so with honesty and
integrity. Ìnstead, the Port of Seattle and ÌLWU have engaged in a smear campaign that is
endangering thousands of potential union construction jobs. This mailer crosses a line, and Ì was
disappointed to learn that it originated from someone with well documented ÌLWU connections. We
are asking the Port of Seattle, ÌLWU and their allies to denounce these tactics and instead bring to
the table some facts to support their claims of this arena's job impact."

Erik Van Rossum, Secretary-Treasurer and PrincipaI Officer of UNITE HERE LocaI 8:
"The Port of Seattle is becoming the great job destroyer of service jobs in the Puget Sound. The
Port staff is pushing to dismantle over 800 middle class service sector jobs at SeaTac Airport and
now they're blocking a project that will create hundreds of new good paying hospitality jobs. They
need to focus on what's right for the community rather than what is best for the paid Port staffers.
They should be looking to create partnerships around their concerns once the arena is funded,
because the Port's real work this year needs to be focused on saving those 800 good service jobs at
the airport rather than destroying them."
Brian Robinson, President of ArenaSoIution.org:
"This should not come down to who has the most lobbyists and how dirty can they play the game.
Our elected officials should not encourage this type of behavior by giving credence to their claims.
Councilmembers should tell them it is time to stop this nonsense and instead explain clearly how
basketball games starting at 7:00 P.M. would impact their daytime operations."
Please direct media inquiries to the contacts listed above this release. Brian Robinson, Lee Newgent
and Erik Van Rossum have media availability Monday prior to and following the King County Council
hearing.

Scare MaiIer Tied to ILWU Operative
An inflammatory mailer sent to citizens last week used blatant scare tactics without any facts cited
to oppose the arena proposal. The anti-arena mailer appears intended to intimidate county
councilmembers Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert by implying that they are puppets of arena
proponents and willing to sacrifice needed public services in deference to the arena.
The anti-arena mailer states it was paid for by Save Our Sodo, an organization with an address
matching that of Max Vekich. Vekich is a third-generation longshoreman who sits on the ÌLWU
international Executive board and has served as ÌLWU president. More info about Vekich is available
at the King County EIections website. His phone number is 206-369-3982.
Steinbrueck and AIIies IntentionaIIy MisIed PubIic and EIected OfficiaIs Regarding RoIe
Earlier this month, news broke that former Seattle City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck had been hired
by the Port as a "strategic advisor" on the SoDo arena issue with a fee of up to $40,000.
Steinbrueck led council members and the public to believe he was acting independently on June 19,
when he made a scathing anti-arena presentation as a "concerned citizen" to council members.
Ìn response to questions about his participation, Steinbrueck stated in a SeattIe Times articIe that
"No one paid me. No one asked me to go. No one told me what to say. Ì was there on my own."

Two emails from MÌC Executive Director Dave Gering, dated June 18, show that Steinbrueck in fact
had been retained by the MÌC prior to that "concerned citizen" testimony, and that his role was being
coordinated with both the Port of Seattle and local media members.
These documents reveal that Steinbrueck deliberately misled the public, media and elected officials
by claiming to be operating independently when he had been retained by the Maritime Ìndustrial
Council. The cost of his services appear to have been transferred to the public expense by having
the Port assume the contract. Neither the MÌC nor the Port of Seattle chose to disclose their
involvement.
EmaiI OutIines Port of SeattIe Motives in Distorting Facts
An email dated May 24 and sent to Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani from the unidentified initials
"MB" acknowledges the Port's attempts to spin rhetorical arguments opposing the arena plan without
any factual basis:
Tay,
POS, I feel, is really starting to have a major PR problem with the proposed arena.
The numbers being thrown around regarding job creation just don't have any substance and are being
viewed as "pie in the sky". You've had freight mobility issues for years because of a constrained
layout. Losing a couple of major carriers hasn't added any weight to the job creation argument.
I feel that this is a ripe opportunity for the Port to gain substantial concessions from both the City and
the County regarding dedicated transportation infrastructure. Please see if you can get a better spin
on what looks like a done deal.
Regards, MB.
Yoshitani and the Port of Seattle have declined to identify the sender of this email or provide his
response.
PubIic Funds Used in Misinformation Campaign

A 2009 Municipal League report analyzing the Port's use of the $91 million tax levy that subsidizes
its operations found that Port's hybrid functions as a quasi-governmental and quasi-private entity
have raised significant issues about its culture of uncompetitive deal-making, poor accountability,
cronyism and ethical lapses. This report calls into question their decision to pay Pete Steinbreuck's
$40,000 to oppose the arena. The Public Facilites District (PFD) retained the firm of Cocker
Fennessy for an initial contract of $37,000. Cocker Fennessy has previously represented both
Maritime and Port interests and the Seattle Mariners, and it has met independently with those
organizations. PFD President Kevin Callan has refused to address concerns that the firm lacks
appropriate oversight or a clear mandate to represent for the public benefit rather than these special
interests.

Response

Arena supporters and union officials will send a letter to local government officials demanding that
arena opponents renounce these tactics and instead deliver factual data regarding the proposed
arena's impact on port operations. An independent traffic study commissioned by the developer
indicates that the 18,000 seat arena would have little if any impact on a traffic system designed to
support larger venues at CenturyLink and SafeCo Fields.

Arena supporters ask that political leaders and media investigate the propriety of these actions and
report the involvement of or take appropriate actions against any participants such as the ÌLWU and
Port of Seattle. Ìn making the final decision on the arena proposal, elected officials should disregard
the rhetoric and make a decision based on facts and data.
The King County Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed arena MOU on Monday, followed by
the Seattle City Council scheduling a vote sometime before it adjourns on August 19.

View the Mission Statement, Advisory Committee, Board of Directors, Membership and additional
information about the organization by visiting ArenaSoIution.org

More details about the SoDo arena proposal are available at SonicsArena.com.
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