With the Nov. 4 general election edging closer, District 26 State Rep. Larry Seaquist and his wife, Carla, filed a libel lawsuit earlier this week against Republican candidate Michelle Caldier.
In the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 20 in Kitsap County Superior Court, Seaquist stated a television ad and Internet website supported by Caldier, makes him look “lecherous” taking photos of Caldier.
Caldier said it was harassment.
It all stems from an Aug. 29 incident after the two candidates left an interview in downtown Bremerton. Four days later, Caldier posted on her Facebook page that Seaquist was taking pictures of her as she got into her car.
“Wow … I felt like I was being stalked,” Caldier wrote on her Facebook page.
He said that the posting “was not true.” Seaquist (D-Gig Harbor) claims after the two candidates went to their cars parked on Fifth Street, he sat down in his vehicle and was looking at his phone catching up with my emails, then he noticed that Caldier got into a white convertible.
He said he was taking photos of Caldier’s car because it was a hard-top convertible that folds into the trunk.
Caldier said she filed a report with the Bremerton Police Department on Sept. 5.
The campaign of the District 26 state representative Position 2 seat has been heated at times after Seaquist edged Caldier by two points in the August primary. Seaquist, a 76-year-old retired U.S. Navy officer, has been in the Legislature since 2006. Caldier, 38, a dentist from Port Orchard, is seeking election to public office for the first time.
According to the lawsuit, Seaquist stated he took a photograph of Caldier’s car with his cellphone. The photograph is described as a wide angle shot showing the car, street and buildings on both sides of the street. Caldier got out of her vehicle to ask Seaquist if he took a photograph. He said he had.
Caldier’s TV advertisement uses the words “caught secretly” which Seaquist contends makes it appear he was apprehended while photographing his opponent privately, according to court documents.
Seaquist claims that an image of him used in one of Caldier’s TV advertisements and other printed materials was altered or photo-shopped. The image is of Seaquist hunched over holding a camera with a gray turned up collar. Seaquist stated the photograph is “something salacious with lecherous intent,” according to the lawsuit.
“The message and fabricated image is skillfully, willingly and maliciously designed to give a false impression of plaintiff Larry Seaquist as a sexual deviant or voyeur, and to ridicule and scorn upon him,” the lawsuit stated.
Seaquist is asking for unspecified damages in the lawsuit, along with his attorney fees and costs.
In an Oct. 21 statement, Caldier stated, “Seaquist’s filing of this frivolous lawsuit perfectly substantiates my arguments about his failure as a public servant. Too often those in power believe they are above the law, and respond with anger and attacks when held accountable for their behavior. His behavior was unacceptable and threatening, and now has become reprehensible.”
“I will not be bullied, and will stand firm with others who have been victims of similar harassment and intimidation by those in positions of authority and public power,” Caldier wrote. “I felt threatened and intimidated then, but find courage to stand against this bullying and harassment as a role model to my daughters and other young women who need to know that they too should feel safe to express their political viewpoint without fear of reprisal from those in power.”
March 2011 incident
In March 2011, the Port Orchard Independent published a story about an alleged altercation between Seaquist and lobbyist Marlyn Jensen — his opponent in a November 2008 election — that boiled over to a political version of he said-she said.
After the election, Jensen was a frequent visitor to Olympia, where she lobbied for property rights.
As part of this effort, she has left symbolic bags of dirt and rocks with legislators.
Jensen visited Seaquist’s office on March 2, when it was unoccupied, and left these items on a desk with several notes about the property rights movement.
Seaquist found the items later in the day, and said he was confused by their purpose.
“I came back to my office to find these bags of dirt and rocks on my administrative assistant’s desk,” he told the Independent. “There were several notes that had something to do with property rights and I think about gay rights. It wasn’t really clear what they were trying to say, since the notes were handwritten and not well organized.”
It was clear, however, that the items were from Jensen.
Seaquist stated that he thought the lobbying method was frivolous, especially in light of the serious budget issues facing the Legislature this year.
Jensen again visited the office on March 4 without an appointment, accompanied by fellow lobbyist Alice Diambri, although they were interested in different issues. Both acknowledge that Seaquist was visibly surprised by Jensen’s sudden appearance in Seaquist’s office door, but differ about what happened next.
According to Jensen, Seaquist became immediately agitated and started yelling and shaking his fists.
“I was quite shocked when he began yelling and shaking his fists at me,” she said. “He kept claiming I humiliated him. He was so angry I never could understand what he was talking about. I started backing toward the door so I could escape his verbal attack, and as I left he yelled that I was ‘never to come to his office again.’”
Seaquist denies losing his temper, insisting, “I am a former military commander. If I ever get mad, you will know.”
Jensen said she felt that Seaquist’s temper flared to the extent where she feared for her safety, while Seaquist characterized the meeting as an admittedly heated discussion about Jensen’s trivialization of the lobbying process.
