UPDATE: Now the Western Center for Journalism site has uploaded a negative ad on YouTube against Biviano.
One of the two claims the ad makes, however, is blatantly wrong. Biviano has been completely upfront with her support of gay marriage in her interviews with me and the Spokesman-Review.
UPDATE: Matt Shea, Amy Biviano's opponent, has responded by condemning the release of the information on his blog. We've included his full response below.
UPDATE: At the bottom, we've included Biviano's written response in full.
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With accusations of lawbreaking, socialism, and intimidation, already in the air, it didn’t seem like the race for the 4th Legislative District could get any dirtier.
Now, it has.
A national conservative blog called the Western Center for Journalism has gone all the way back to 1995 to uncover an old “Women of the Ivy League” spread back in December, 1995 featuring Amy Nabors, District 4 candidate Amy Biviano’s maiden name.
And if you want to get really offended, regardless of your political views or thoughts on pornography? Read the comments below the blog’s article.
Biviano, a Democrat running against Rep. Matt Shea, saw this coming a long time ago.
“Picture this ... you are applying for a job for which you know that you're perfect. It is unthinkable that your experience, your high grades, and your real interest in the company could be disregarded,” Biviano wrote in a Yale Herald article in 1995. “Yet, as the decision is made, somehow, you are looked over. Why? The answer has nothing to do with your college education and everything to do with your college behavior - you posed for Playboy, and now your job market will be forever limited… The above scenario is every Yalie's worst nightmare - being rejected just because of one stupid, rash college prank. ”
In that article, she said her decision to pose had other unforeseen consequences: strange men calling her in the middle of the night to talk to her about her breasts, judgmental looks in the grocery story, and Yale alumni quizzing her about her reason for posing. Magazines like Playboy have often been a subject of debate within the feminist movements, with some feminists arguing the magazine is degrading to women and others, like Biviano, arguing that “that the feminist sentiment "my body, my choice" should apply to all women at all times….”
But she also said it had a positive impact on her life: She became more of risk-taker, less inhibited.
We called up Floyd Brown, the conservative blogger out of Arizona, who broke the story. He says he’s has been following the Matt Shea-Amy Biviano race for a while.
“It’s a race that a lot of conservatives all over the country are watching. His work against gay marriage is recognized around the country is recognized as being significant,” Brown says. “You’ve got to admit this guy had courage, he stands up to everybody.”
And it didn’t take much to dig up Biviano’s past.
“All it took was some Google searching, I found it right on Google,” Brown says. “On about page 6.”
He says he’s been doing the work that journalists at the Inlander and Spokesman-Review should have been doing all along. Brown won’t say whether voters should care about it or not. But he sees the fact that Biviano, for some reason, decision to not mention her Playboy pictures on her campaign website as hypocritical.
“I believe it’s hypocrisy when you go from going from an ardent feminist to portraying yourself as this suburban mother with two kids going to a PTA meeting,” Brown says
Whether or not it hurts Biviano’s campaign, it’s certainly been a boon for Brown’s website. This is going national. This story has gone viral,” Brown says. ““This is all over the country. I’ve had such tremendous traffic on my website today.
So is this dirty politics?
“This is journalism. This is investigative reporting,” Brown says “This is the sort of work that journalists should be doing every single day.”
UPDATE: Biviano opponent Matt Shea's response follows, in full:
I am saddened by the release by a national media outlet of my opponent’s
involvement in pornography. I strongly condemn the release of this information.
Our campaign was aware of this information several months ago, and made a very
determined decision to not use or disperse this information in any way, shape,
or form. I specifically instructed the few members of my campaign team who knew
of this situation to not disseminate this information, engage in negative,
personal attack campaigning, even though my opponent had already done so. This
type of negative campaigning is exactly what is wrong with politics today. While
these revelations are indeed alarming, my heart goes out to Amy and her family.
My wife Viktoriya and I will continue to pray for her.
UPDATE: Amy Biviano's e-mailed response follows, in full:
A partisan, agenda-driven website has "broken" the story that when I was a 20 year old student at Yale University, I appeared in Playboy Magazine's "Women of the Ivy League." People have asked me how I feel about this decision now, as a 37 year old wife, mother, and political candidate.
My answer is that while I would not do the same thing now, this is not something that I made any attempt to hide. I haven't brought it up in the context of this race because it has no bearing on issues in the 4th legislative district nor the person I am today.
I also stand by my character and fitness for public office. In fact, I would be happy to make character a centerpiece of this campaign. I learned a lot from my college experiences. Since then, I have gone on to build an extremely happy marriage of fifteen years, have been blessed with amazing children, have been active in my church, and have worked and volunteered to help my community while living with a disability.
I remain the only candidate in this race able to work with people of all walks of life and on both sides of the aisle. I have shown the work ethic and determination to get things done.
A personal decision that harms no one and has no political significance made 17 years ago should have no bearing on the 4th Legislative District race whatsoever.
Matt Shea´s actions, however, should darn well be considered because they include:
-Domestic violence and retraining orders against his intimate partner.
-Breaking the law by brandishing an unlicensed weapon during a traffic dispute.
-Inappropriate intimidation tactics against Biviano while her children were home alone.
-Simply bizarre conspiracy agendas advanced through a fringe group that the FBI classifies as a terrorist organization.
All of these concerning behaviors and more are documented and fact-checked at: http://www.thesheareport.com/
Yes, look at Amy´s picture if you want. Then study The Shea Report and think long and hard about what kind of representation we need and deserve here in Eastern Washington. It is time to get Shea out of office so the community can put the drama and instability of Shea in the past for good.
Oct 19, 2012 | Reply to this comment
"I remain the only candidate in this race able to work with people of all walks of life and on both sides of the aisle."
Hip, Hip Hooray!... unless you happen to be an unborn child or believe in the sanctity of life and marriage as ordained by GOD.
You know... that deity our Founding Fathers revered.
The ONE they looked to in forming our republic and making it stand above every other form of government the world has ever seen by enumerating HIS laws into our Constitution... the same ONE the Dem´s/Progressives don´t want anything to do with.
All hail to the state – and what a miserable one it is when the insane take over the asylum... just remember though – they had your help if you voted for them or didn´t bother to vote.
Her thinking is still suspect... after all these years she views HER actions as a good and righteous thing with the ends justifying the means.
FYI – The definition of Evil... is the justification of doing something wrong!
Isn´t it interesting that LIVE spelled backwards is EVIL, that the opposite of Life is Death and that is what the Dem´s/Progressives promote by calling it a woman´s right to murder HER baby!
That´s not right... it´s Evil – and if you vote for people who support it, then you have the blood of the innocents on your hands as well.
Here is how SBS Seattle describes her: http://sbs-seattle.com/tag/amy-biviano/
"Biviano is a far from a socialist (she’s a corporatist who believes in the privatization of worker’s comp programs) and her support for abortion rights and marriage equality are the majority opinions of Washingtonians. There is nothing “radical” about her platform."
Really... really?
Her support for abortion rights "the murder of innocent children" and marriage equality "the promotion of homosexuality" clearly shows her current judgment is suspect if this is what she supports... as well as the majority of Washingtonians if they do if fact agree with her.
The simple fact is – her personal decision Does harm everyone... even if they´re willfully blind to seeing it or just want someone to give them cover for their unjust and unholy desires.
Everyone will have to answer for what they DO, and what they Fail to do... nobody gets to ride for free – Nobody!
But the good news is, you get to choose... what will it be? Life or Death
Oct 20, 2012 | Reply to this comment
And how can this election even continue? You can´t hire or refuse to hire a woman based on how she may or may not look without clothes. In fact, you can get sued for that. When somebody votes for or against a candidate, they´re helping to decide whether the candidate is hired for a particular office. So whether you voted for or against Ms. Biviano, aren´t immediately under suspicion for sexism or harassment? The only option is for voters to move out of the Fourth District.
Oct 20, 2012 | Reply to this comment
I´m a feminist, a mother (two kids, two stepkids), and have been to plenty of PTA meetings. No contradiction.
Everyone who DIDN´T do something when you were young that doesn´t represent what you stand for today or what you would want your kids to do, please raise your hand.
Funny, I don´t see any hands. Oct 21, 2012 | Reply to this comment