Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I have told you about The Phisher King, Tyler Vogt, Tea-Publican troll candidate for the Tucson City Council, who misused and abused a public records request to obtain e-mail addresses for a commercial purpose, i.e., to solicit you for campaign contributions. The Phisher King, Tyler Vogt, spams Tucson, breaks the law.
The Arizona Daily Star finally got around to telling its reader's about this troll's spamming activity yesterday. Tucson City Council candidate's use of emails stirs criticism:
Tucson City Clerk Roger Randolph said he isn't sure how a number of city employees ended up on the list, saying he also received an email from Vogt, even though he doesn't receive ward newsletter updates. He sent Vogt a letter reminding him that city employees can't be solicited for contributions and has already warned employees that they are not allowed to contribute money to any city candidate.
Of course, the Star downplayed the "illegal" aspect of Vogt's activities in the interest of being "fair and balanced" - a rule that does not seem to apply when the The Brodesky/O'Dell tag team (AKA, the B&O Journalistic Railroad) is flogging the dead horse of Rio Nuevo that is the bread and butter of this dying Star.
The Phisher King's spamming of Tucson earned him three mentions in the Tucson Weekly edition out today, in the Weekly Wide Web, and The Skinny, and this post by Mari Herreras ' I've Been Spammed by Tyler Vogt!': More on Vogt's Spam Bam | The Range:
[T]his mess Republican Tyler Vogt created for himself after getting e-mail correspondence from Tucson City Council members Paul Cunningham, Shirley Scott, Steve Kozachik and others, as part of an Arizona Public Information request, isn’t making him too many friends during his run for city council against Ward 4 incumbent and Democrat Shirley Scott.
Because Vogt solicited campaign contributions using the e-mail addresses he compiled from the correspondence, the Pima County Democratic Party is accusing Vogt of breaking the law.
It also accuses him of violating the city charter, because those messages included city workers’ e-mail addresses and it’s a no-no to solicit city workers using their official addresses during work hours.
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Even Vogt’s fellow Republican Steve Kozachik is getting in on the complaints. Koz sent this e-mail to Vogt:
“When your campaign requested a list of our constituent e-mail addresses, I objected on the grounds of wanting to protect their privacy. I was told by the City Clerk and City Attorney that I could not withhold that information and therefore they turned over the list to your campaign.”
And by the way, the Koz want his Ward’s e-mails off Vogt's list, too:
“I continue to believe your having accessed those e-mail addresses constitutes an invasion of the privacy of the people now receiving your campaign material. I request that you identify those e-mail addresses secured from the Ward 6 list and delete them from your list serve.”
Vogt responded that an opt-out link was on his spam, but wasn’t working. [I am informed this has been corrected.] Regarding the Koz’s opinion: “I will choose to let the individuals make the decision whether they wish to continue to receive e-mail from my campaign and I will respect thier decisions,” he wrote.
Other than a need to use spell-check, Vogt may also need to check in with the city attorney about bad spam.
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Maybe there are perks for political stupidity. Like Senator Al Melvin, Vogt now gets to claim a Facebook book page created in his honor. Melvin's page is called Oh Captain, My Captain — The Al Melvin Fan Club, while Vogt's new page is I've Been Spammed by Tyler Vogt! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/245625745465082/