HeraldNet: UPDATE: AquaSox GM says it won't happen again



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The Petri Dish

July 2, 2008

UPDATE: AquaSox GM says it won't happen again

Posted at 11:52 am by Jerry Cornfield

UPDATE: I just had a nice conversation with Everett AquaSox General Manager Brian Sloan who wanted to assure the team's fans that "the e-mail list is secured and you will not be receiving any more e-mails from any political candidates."

And for those wondering if the club ever shares or sells the list to third parties, his answer was "no."

(here's the earlier post:)
Majority owners of the Everett AquaSox may want to bench minority owner Dino Rossi because Rossi’s campaign tapped the baseball club’s private e-mail list to solicit attendees to a fund raiser at the ballpark this Monday.

Peter A. and Peter E. Carfagna of the AquaSox apologized to fans Tuesday hours after Rossi’s campaign sent out invites to 5,500 addresses on the list.

The Carfagnas wrote:

“We recently learned that our personal privacy policy was compromised in an attempt to solicit your support for a partisan political fundraiser.

In that regard, on behalf of our family ownership group, we would like to express our sincere apologies.

Although we did not authorize this communication nor were we aware of it in advance, we have justifiably received numerous complaints from you expressing your displeasure. We take full responsibility and again beg your pardon.

Rossi's campaign apologized this morning in a statement from Communications Director Jill Strait:

Our Snohomish County Finance Chair Tom Hoban, who is also a part owner of the AquaSox, requested the list from the AquaSox General Manager, who then gave a list of e-mails to one of our campaign staffers.

The campaign believed that since we had received the list from AquaSox management, we had permission to send an email about the upcoming event. We were wrong. It is our fault for not double checking.

Dino Rossi was unaware that the list had been requested or used. We apologize to AquaSox fans who received this email.

Strait said the event is still on. She said the AquaSox knew about the fund raiser beforehand and did give permission to use the team logo on the invitation.

Hoban told me today that he is sorry if anyone was offended. He said he wanted to be sure fans know about all activities going on at the ballpark and they can decide if they want to participate.

"My intention was not to exclude anybody. It is not a partisan event. It is a fund raiser for Dino but it is not targeting any one particular group.

I authorized sending the invitation out to baseball fans because I wanted them to be aware of it and feel comfortable coming if they wanted to."

If Gov. Christine Gregoire wants to have an event at the ballpark, he said he'd help get the word out the same way. He said a number of groups will hold activities at the stadium throughout the season.

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What's the big deal?
Regardless of your political affiliation, it would stand to reason that when there is an event going on, the general public should be aware of it. This includes those that are on the Aqua Sox email list. Besides, how hard is it to delete one simple email if you are not interested? It seems as though it is more of a nuisance to call and complain...

Furthermore, it is my understanding that this is an event open to anyone who wishes to meet both Dino Rossi and Jay Buhner. Whether you are a D, R or anything in between, it seems like a great opportunity to meet a fantastic ball player and possibly ask some meaningful questions to a political candidate. If you like what you hear, spend a couple dollars in support... if not, DON'T. Are some people so narrow minded that they won't even take the opportunity to learn about a candidate?

I won't even get started on the subject of labor unions, state employee access, etc. that are barraged with emails are marketing regarding political affiliations and support. I'm sure there are quite a few individuals in those organizations that would prefer not to hear about "events" going on but do nonetheless. Do those organizations apologize for sharing email databases? I don't think so.

Sean "Prefer to Make My Own Opinions" Straub
Sean Straub | Jul 3, 2008 2:25 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

Hoban Should Take Responsibility for His Actions
Are you kidding me? Hoban says:

"My intention was not to exclude anybody. It is not a partisan event. It is a fund raiser for Dino but it is not targeting any one particular group."

According to the Rossi Campaign, Hoban is their Snohomish County Finance Chair! Yet he wants us to believe that this was purely a non-partisan gesture on his behalf as part of the Aquasox ownership team? Please!

Maybe as part of the ownership team he should be more aware of the team rules regarding privacy and proper use of the email list. Come to think of it, maybe he should check on the privacy policy of Coast Real Estate to ensure he doesn't start spamming those customers with political junk mail.
<P>
Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue
Chad Shue | Jul 3, 2008 7:18 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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