Plans for a Donald Trump fundraiser in Seattle are moving ahead, with north Seattle businesswoman Faye Garneau among the new co-hosts.
Plans for a Donald Trump fundraiser in Seattle are moving ahead despite several of the original co-hosts bolting from the event.
North Seattle businesswoman and property owner Faye Garneau is on the latest roster of co-hosts for the Aug. 30 fundraiser, according to a copy of the invitation circulated by organizers.
Garneau confirmed in an interview she’d agreed to co-host the Trump event. She acknowledged the GOP presidential nominee is “not super popular” in Seattle, adding: “Good God, Matilda, I’d be surprised if he was in Democratic Seattle!”
But, like other Trump backers, Garneu said she appreciates his business background and tough talk. “He’s honest, he’s talking bluntly. He’s not really a true politician in some respects,” she said.
Garneau has been a unique political force in Seattle, often opposing taxes and spending proposals coming out of City Hall. She spent more than $150,000 in a losing effort to block last year’s $930 million Move Seattle transportation levy.
She joins several previously named Trump hosts, including billionaire money manager Ken Fisher and real-estate developer Clyde Holland, both big GOP donors from the Vancouver area. The location of the fundraiser has not been disclosed.
Hosts also include state Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Hutchison, Clyde Hill developer Hossein Khorram and Brina Sanft, volunteer chair for Trump’s campaign in King County.
State Sens. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, and Brian Dansel, R-Republic, who have been working as paid staff for the Trump campaign, also are hosts.
Some who were originally listed as fundraiser co-hosts disavowed involvement after a draft invitation with their names hit the news.
Seattle real-estate developer Martin Selig said this week he wanted nothing to do with Trump. Provenance Hotels executives Gordon Sondland and Bashar Wali, and Peter Stott, president of Portland-based Columbia Investments, previously disavowed the event.
Plans for Trump’s visit to Washington state have not been finalized but are still expected to include a public rally in the Central Puget Sound area, in addition to the private fundraiser, according to Ericksen.
Trump made his first campaign stop in the state in May, holding large rallies in Spokane and Lynden.
A poll released this week found Trump trailing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by double digits in Washington.