Over the last three weeks I’ve been doing a fairly aggressive investigation into a flier being circulated by an anonymous group of people on San Juan Island attacking state Senate candidate Kevin Ranker.

Simply for the fact that the group is anonymous it causes me to shudder that I had to look into this stuff, but I thought it was important, not only to hold Ranker accountable but also to ensure that he wasn’t being smeared.

You can read my story on this issue, right here.

Based on my digging, it appears the letter is largely one big smear. In print, we didn’t go in to each accusation, but I will go in to here each accusation and show you where they’re wrong. The group appears to operate on the M.O. that if you throw enough mud, some might stick. That doesn’t appear to be the case here, but I’ll deliver to you what I know. One blogger, one of our resident Republicans, Bellinghammer, believes some of the issues are a concern. Hopefully he can participate here now that I’m laying this out. I encourage others to discuss this, too.

Fact check below the fold.

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The flier:

*Questions how Ranker could have “worked as a high school counselor for at-risk youth in Los Angeles* They declare this claim false.

The Facts: It’s true.

One does not need a four-year degree to help with such activities, and it appears that this anonymous group didn’t really want to know what the actual story was.

While attending Santa Monica College from 1989-1992 (he didn’t graduated from this institution), Ranker majored in social and child-development pyschology, and helped with several teen programs that addressed various issues such as alcohol, tobacco, other drug issues, suicide, gender issues, gang involvement/gand prevent, world injustice, poverty, crime, alternative activites, peer counseling, mentoring and more. This information came from Ranker’s supervisor, John Berndt, a licensed clinical social worker who has directed youth programs for more than 30 years. It is not uncommon for college students in such psychology programs to work as counselors.

The flier: *Questions Ranker’s ownership of a bar in Australia.

The Facts: Ranker and three friends were the first investors in a bar/restaurant venture in Australia in which Ranker was responsible for the permitting process, developing the business plan and pulling in investors. It appears that investors were still being sought and there was no official opening of the business, but Ranker did own it and lost money on the venture when he pulled out and went back to the America.

A second flier: *Accuses Ranker of being arrested for supporting Mumia Abu-Jamal a former black panther, journalist, author and cab driver who was convicted of killing a police officer in Philadelphia. Police reports state that Ranker was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and walking in the roadway.

The Facts: Those charges were dropped and he paid a $50 fine that amounted to jayawlking. It is Ranker’s word against several police reports that are somewhat conflicting. The prosecutor’s office has no notes from the 13-year-old incident because they only keep those records for three years, according to an assistant city attorney I spoke with.

In terms of consistency, the reports are anything but. In one it says Ranker and another person, who appears to have been more involved in the issue, were both holding signs. In another, it says there were three signs. In other reports it never mentions Ranker holding a sign. Ranker has explained that the charges were dropped because multiple witnesses were able to disprove the conflicting police reports. He also has said that he was not protesting about Abu Jamal, but was invited into the roadway (which was near his house) by friends he saw in the protest and he followed along. He said there were other protesters there that had issues with a federal law about logging clear cuts, and he was concerned about that. He said he was never holding a sign, and witnesses proved that, too. The incident never ended up in court.

*Flier: Questions Ranker’s statememt that he is “an active member of the American Legion” because he’s not a military veteran.

The Facts: Ranker is a member of the American Legion via a subgroup, the Sons of the American Legion, which you can join if you have a direct relative who was in the military. Ranker’s membership expired in 2005, however, but he renewed it after it was pointed out to him. Ranker is active with the American Legion Post 163, according to Commander Shannon Plummer, who also said Ranker is active in supporting veterans issues on the islands. Ranker and Mike Gregoire, the governor’s husband, worked together to get a one-a-month VA clinic on the islands for the county’s 2,500 veterans.

*Flier questions Ranker’s statement about working for 15 years on coastal and ocean policy and community development at the local, national and international level.

The Facts: Even in the early 1990s Ranker was working with places like Westport, Wash., where he helped the city, environmental community and fisherman work on erosion issues. Ranker founded the first chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in the state in 1994. He was still in school at this time, but still working in a professional area. Ranker has also worked in Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia on helping protect sacred beaches from tourists. Since those times, Ranker has also been extremely active at the county, state and federal level on these issues, as confirmed by the many boards and committees he served on. Not a single person I spoke to at any of those organizations said Ranker was anything but helpful and active.

*Flier says Ranker has missed 25 percent of San Juan Island County Council meetings.

The Facts: Since Ranker was elected in 2005, he has missed 28 of 286 meetings. That’s about 9.8 percent. What’s more, Ranker missed most of those meetings because he was doing work for the county, whether that was lobbying on behalf of the county in Olympia, D.C., or because he was representing the county at the Washington State Association of Counties. He also missed a few meetings because of the birth of his daughter.

*Flier says Ranker sued citizens in San Juan County for exercising their right to referendum.

The Facts: Ranker and the rest of the council voted to allow the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney to participate in a court case along with Seattle, Kent and Auburn regarding the No New Gas Tax initiative, which tried to get rid of the 9.5 cent gas tax increase. The lawsuit was specifically about whether two radio DJs who supported the tax should be filing documentation about their on-air support as contributions to the No New Gas Tax campaign. The Washington State Supreme Court majority said they didn’t. Ranker didn’t do this by himself.

*Flier points out that one Supreme Court Justice said the case was for the “purpose of restricting or silencing political opponents.

The Facts: The quote doesn’t come from a majority opinion of the court in its ruling but in a concurring opinion by Justice J.M. Johnson.