An Inconvenient Donation: Riccelli passes the ga$
WILL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS HOLD SPOKANE CANDIDATES TO THEIR PLEDGES?
Posted 19 October 2023
Despite signing a “no fossil fuel pledge” candidates Paul Dillon and “Kitty” Klitzke take money from Rep. Riccelli PAC with a pipeline to the oil and natural gas industry.
The Pledge signed by Dillon and Klitzke states,
“I pledge not to take contributions over $200 from oil, gas, and coal industry executives, lobbyists, and PACs and instead prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.”
Above, Riccelli (far right at least in the photo) with candidates Paul Dillon (far left to say the least), Lisa Brown (2nd from left), “Kitty” Klitzke (middle) and Betsy Wilkerson (to left of Riccilli).
You won’t hear much from mainstream news about Spokane’s under-the-radar Riccelli political action committee “Fifty Plus One PAC.” That’s by design. Marcus “the money mover” Riccelli uses his political power to line the campaign coffers of his allies with lobbyist donations through this solicitous slush fund - hiding the inconvenient truth for candidates who break their campaign pledges and promises.
“Fifty Plus One PAC” received $5,000 from TransCanada USA Services Inc. just days ago. TransCanada USA (TC ENERGY), based in Houston is according to its website,
We’re more than a pipeline company. Approximately 7,300 people strong, TC Energy is a vital part of modern life. Thanks to a safe, stable network of natural gas and crude oil pipelines, along with nuclear power facilities, wherever life happens — we’re there.
Before Paul Dillon and “Kitty” Klitzke claim that their donations from “Fifty Plus One PAC” don’t violate their pledges because their donations came before the TC Energy donation - know that TransCanada gave $2,000 to Riccelli’s PAC in October of 2022.
Why does the Riccelli “Fifty Plus One” PAC matter?
It’s all about integrity and honesty. Along with blatantly breaking the pledge cited at the top of this post, in 2018 in support of Senator Andy Billig’s DISCLOSE Act that aims to get dark money out of political campaigns, current candidate for Spokane City Council Paul Dillon said,
“I think that our donors and supporters absolutely support people knowing who’s influencing our elections and strengthening our democracy,” Dillon said.
Donations from the Riccelli Shifty “Fifty Plus One” PAC including the fossil-fueled laundry service include the following City of Spokane Candidates:
$2,200.00 Lisa Brown for Mayor
$1.200.00 People for Paul Dillon
$1,050.00 Elect Lindsey Shaw
$1,000.00 Committee to Elect Kitty Klitzke
$ 250.00 People for Betsy Wilkerson
All of the candidates above have been endorsed by environmental activist organizations: Washington Conservation Action - Sierra Club - and many aggressive environmental activists that have been vociferous for years opposing TransCanada’s (TC Energy) Keystone Pipeline.
Paul Dillon earns an especially hot space in hypocrisy hades. In 2018, Dillon penned the following in the INLANDER opinion piece “Pants on Fire U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers can't see the forest for the trees when it comes to climate change”,
She's voted against fracking protections on federal land, to cut funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency while increasing funding for fossil fuels, and to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline — all while taking donations from Big Oil, and successfully denying the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s not enough that Paul Dillon has teamed up with Marcus Riccilli to hide his own fossil-fuel funding … Paul Dillon’s campaign manager, Chandler Forsyth is on the board of Riccelli’s PAC!
CALL TO ACTION - Will Spokane environmental activists rise up in protest against their own?
It is difficult to suffer lectures, protests and rallies from those who want to remove natural gas from our consumer energy choices, when they are taking political funding from one of our nation’s (and Canada’s) biggest oil and natural gas energy suppliers.
