Attacks continue among Congress hopefuls
Mason followers defend their man from racism accusations, Wright camp assails its two opponents
The rumble is still on among Democratic candidates for the Fourth Legislative District.
To the continuous exchanges between hopefuls Craig Mason and Sandy Matheson, the voice of Richard Wright's camp is beginning to be heard.
It all started when Mason sent media outlets an e-mail where he said that Matheson's campaign manager Gil Gilman was threatening him to go to the media with rumors of Mason using ethnic slurs if he did not stop telling people that no money on earth could help Matheson beat incumbent Republican Richard "Doc" Hastings.
Mason said that he thought Gilman was trying to be intimidating by being "a jerk." Gilman responded that Mason could call him names, but at least, he was "not a racist."
Friends and supporters of Mason have rallied around their candidate, labeling Gilman's accusations "outrageous" and "absurd."
Farhad Arshad, a former colleague of Mason said he was disappointed Gilman had called Mason a racist.
A sociology professor at Columbia Basin College like Mason was, Arshad said accusing Mason of racism insulted the intelligence of the people of the Tri-Cities.
"They are blatantly false accusations," he said.
Jerad Koepp, a former student of Mason's said the accusations were "hilarious," going against everything Mason taught in his classes.
"It seems so fabricated to anyone who knows (Mason)," he said. "Mason probably understands race better than a Chicago campaign manager would." Chicago is Gilman's city of origin.
Matt Mathesius, an English instructor at CBC compounded the defense of the candidate.
"(Mason) is as progressive and respectful when it comes to skin color in this community as I have ever met," he said.
Mathesius described the accusations as a ploy cooked up by Gilman and Matheson in order to decimate the popularity among minority voters that Mason may have.
Adding to the controversy are the remarks of Clark Denslow, campaign manager of Wright's, aimed at both Mason and Matheson. Denslow said Mason was not a good fit for the Fourth District, and questioned whether Matheson was really a Democrat.
"Mason is very liberal with no business background," he said. In comparison, Denslow said his man had 10 clinics, employing 57 people, which gave him business experience.
Denslow was the latest person to bring forth the topic of Matheson's donations to Republican candidates in the past.
"If she is a Democrat, then where is the money to Bill Clinton or Al Gore in the past races?" he asked. "There isn't any."
"I try to find her at Kerry rallies, or wearing a Kerry button on, or at Patty Murray rallies in Pasco."
He added that Matheson seemed to be running as a moderate Republican rather than as a Democrat.
Matheson responded to Denslow by saying she could not be everywhere all the time.
Regarding her political position, she said that up until she decided to run she had been very supportive of the community, which meant she would support candidates on both sides.
"But when I decided to enter the political arena, your life changes," she said, adding that she did not feel like she needed to defend her record of support of Democratic candidates.