When will the Oregonian withdraw its endorsement of Domonic Biggi?
Kari Chisholm
A week ago, in the race for the seat held now by Rep. Derrick Kitts (R), the Oregonian pulled its earlier endorsement of David Edwards (D) for the state legislature, and switched their endorsement to his opponent, Everett Curry (R). Why? Because, they said, the Edwards campaign had failed to be forthright in disclosing an incident that had occurred between the two campaigns. (An incident, by the way, that had been apologized for and set aside.)
As a result of an episode that became public last week, we now urge District 30 voters to send the Republican, Everett Curry, to Salem, instead of his Democratic opponent, David Edwards. It was a close call to begin with, and new evidence tips the balance in Curry's favor.
[Nevermind, of course, that it's Everett Curry who lied to the Oregonian. Repeatedly.]
Three weeks ago (on September 19), in the race to succeed Rep. Mark Hass (D), the Oregonian endorsed Domonic Biggi (R) over Tobias Read (D). They even called him "forthright" and "respected."
But a few days later (on September 22), thanks to the sleuthing of Loaded Orygun, it was disclosed that Mr. Biggi had been sentenced to 24 months of bench probation for failure to pay child support.
Now, we know the Oregonian knows about it. In fact, the Big O called the former Mrs. Biggi and she confirmed that Domonic had, in fact, failed to pay his child support - but had recently caught up on his payments.
The issue came to light with a Friday evening posting on the Loaded Orygun Web site. The liberal political weblog published a report that Domonic Biggi, 41, owed his ex-wife thousands of dollars in child support and alimony payments.A judgment signed by a Washington County circuit court judge on June 30, 2006, found Biggi, vice president of Beaverton Foods, in contempt of court and threatened jail for failing to keep up on payments of more than $4,000 a month for his ex-wife and four children. At that time he owed about $9,000.
On Monday afternoon, Domonic Biggi said he is up-to-date on payments to his wife and that he plans to continue with the court-ordered requirements.
So... the question is: When will the Oregonian withdraw its endorsement of Domonic Biggi? After all, it seems apparent that he clearly didn't disclose the failure to pay child support, nor the court-ordered probation and payments, when he met with them.
Or does the Oregonian have a double-standard for ethics? A high bar for candidates whose young managers make dumb mistakes, and a low bar for candidates who are deadbeat dads who have to be forced by the court to pay child support?
[Full disclosure: Tobias Read has been a friend for over a decade, and I built his website, but I don't speak for him or his campaign.]
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Oct 12, '06
Yeah, well they also endorsed Bruce Starr, despite his "missteps" of forgetting to report his trips to Maui and Israel.
But because he's on the Chalkboard Project, is "polished and experienced," and for more than any other reason, because he's "excited about the prospect of helping address Oregon's continuing difficulty with supporting its public schools," we should keep him around, they say.
Oct 12, '06
Starr has been appointed by his caucus to work with the Chalkboard Project, and never misses a single occasion to mention it. It is a common practice for legislators who are weak on a topic to sit on a committee to have something to show during the re-election campaign. In the case of Starr "[he] isn't keen on all the [Chalkboard Project] proposals but said he has learned from the group's research and has changed his mind on some issues" according to the Oregonian. Given his past intense dislike for teachers and their unions, and his past and current anti-tax positions, it is unlikely that he has suddenly converted to believing in the need of adequately funding quality education.
His ethical lapses are not a surprise, since he is reliably in the pocket of big business and their lobbyists. But we have very low expectations of our legislators here in Oregon.
Oct 12, '06
The Oregonian is a right-leaning rag -- particularly the editorial board and the headline writers. It's absurd for a paper that serves the city of Portland.
11:14 a.m.
Oct 12, '06
You shouldn't be mad at the Oregonian. Instead, pity them.
As Tom McCall Republicans, they need to find ways to balance out their endorsements between the parties. But with the state of the Republican party both locally and nationally, this is nearly impossible to accomplish.
11:25 a.m.
Oct 12, '06
Let's get back to Biggi and Edwards.
Biggi was found in contempt of court only a few months ago for not supporting his children, while he was asking voters to represent them in the legislature. The Oregonian then decided he was the best candidate for the office. Do they really believe that today? Since they changed their position on Edwards, what is keeping them from changing their position on Biggi since they learned new facts. Does Biggi have to actually physically abuse his children?
As for Edwards, the 'O' change of position statement was so weak it was laughable. The much more conservative Argus says they were conned by the Republicans. There is evidence that they did a push poll favoring Curry and yet claimed it came from Edwards and got Reinhard to publish the lie. They must be falling over laughing at their success.
11:44 a.m.
Oct 12, '06
"The Oregonian is a right-leaning rag -- particularly the editorial board and the headline writers."
Snort. The Oregonian was the Republican paper back when that's how it worked. Certainly the publisher comes from those roots and influences the editorial board. I think you'd be hard pressed to make a case against the copy editors though. (They're the ones who write the headlines.)
12:13 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
Just updated the post with an image of a rather ironic Biggi billboard sent in by an alert reader.
Oct 12, '06
Uhhh...Biggi has caught up on his payments. Conversation over.
My wife's ex owes us $35K and still remains a jobless wart on society. He's a liberal too.
2:03 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
Uhhh...Biggi has caught up on his payments.
Not really.
Just because he's finally done the right thing - after being ordered to do so by the court, and sentenced to probation - doesn't mean that he didn't the wrong thing in the first place.
2:04 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
And BTW, your wife's ex and "jobless wart" doesn't owe you any money. He owes his children money. It's the view that child support is for the ex-spouse that some people use to justify being deadbeats.
2:46 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
Outstanding post, Kari! I'm in HD 27 and I refuse to be represented by this no-talent, deadbeat dad taking Oregon right to life money and oodles of cash from Oregon's reich-wing! Please vote for Tobias and help him out. Biggi has NO political experience and essentially runs a family business he inherited. What skill that took. Compare this to Tobias's extensive legislative experience in Oregon and his excellent preparation for this job. Come on O -- It's a no-brainer. Can't believe they even looked at the records. http://www.tobiasread.com
Oct 12, '06
Sorry Kari, you're wrong. My wife and I have paid for our kid's insurance, shelter, food, safety, education, transportation, clothing and entertainment. Not to mention the physical and emotional cost of raising children. The jobless wart has contributed a mere pittance to those costs. Child support should go to the ex-spouse (and their partner/spouse) since they're the ones paying for the his/her kids. Think of it as a reimbursement.
If the jobless wart ever did pay (of course, he'd actually have to make a concerted attempt to get off the public dole, get a job and contribute to society), the money would go to our kid's college fund.
3:21 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
Actually I remember now that the Biggi campaign isn't necessarily flush at the moment. I just recall from the beginning of the campaign that the ORL was a key donor. But that gigantic Sign of Irony that Kari posted above just can't be cheap, so the money must be coming in.
I so wish I could photo-shop the words -- "except my kids, of course" on there every time I pass by. So, editors of the O, how is this story looking for your GOP Family Values narrative?
3:23 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
Chris McMullen: My wife's ex owes us $35K and still remains a jobless wart on society. He's a liberal too.
Maybe his lack of job might have something to do with his inability to pay his child support?
Don't tell me Mr. Biggi, a VP of his family business, is in a similar situation. The only possible reason he didn't pay is because he doesn't like the idea of supporting his own kids.
God, and I know the Biggis too. How the hell did this get past his dad? I can't imagine he'd support his son not supporting his grandkids.
Oct 12, '06
"Maybe his lack of job might have something to do with his inability to pay his child support?"
Jobless by choice. For seven years no less.
"The only possible reason he didn't pay is because he doesn't like the idea of supporting his own kids."
Not necessarily. Do know for sure he didn't hit financially hard times? Hell, he was only 2-months and one week behind. The fact he's caught up on his child support shows he's fulfilled his responsibility.
Conversely, the wart hasn't paid a dime in support for 5 years.
4:10 p.m.
Oct 12, '06
It's great that he paid up, but the fact remains that he willfully refused to support his children until the threat of jail was most unceremoniously placed on him as the alternative. And it's not me using the word "willful;" it's the court. It wasn't can't pay, it was won't pay.
Oct 13, '06
Is the wart running for public office under a pro-kid agenda?
Oct 13, '06
I know Dom Biggi. A better candidate and finer man you could not find.
10:33 a.m.
Oct 13, '06
you need to get out more, Victoria. Or you need to up your standards, so that people who refuse to support their kids don't end up qualifying as "fine men" in your eyes. Is Mark Foley "a good egg?"
Oct 19, '06
I know Dom personally and there are few individuals less equipped for public office than he is. Not only are his values (and actions) contrary to his campaign rhetoric, but he's an over-privileged, dim witted letch who couldn't be any more right-wing. Fall for his lies and pay the price.
Oct 25, '06
"A better candidate and finer man you could not find."
Maybe YOU couldn't. Don't assume the rest of us are so snowed by his pretty words.
<h2>I've known Dom for a long time, and I have yet to see or hear about him sacrificing anything of himself for anyone or anything other than his own gain. And wouldn't you want someone in office that would be willing to think more of you than they do of themselves? Is it just me, or is that their JOB?</h2>