$54,000 raised so far for the hospital district election is more like the money needed for county council elections. $31,500 or over 58% were in-kind contributions on behalf of Ledford and Hancock to Wilson Strategic, a health care PR consultant also used by PeaceHealth. That’s a lot of money! Thanks to our public disclosure laws we can learn about this.
Is big money somehow associated with PeaceHealth trying to buy this election? Something we’re not accustomed to for positions that get $100/meeting. What is going on?
We need to ask why PeaceHealth loyalists are so afraid of losing control of a public hospital board that is supposed to represent the taxpayers of the district? All six candidates are qualified but PeaceHealth apparently sees three acceptable and three unacceptable. Something about this isn’t right. The irony is that the three unacceptable candidates stand the best chance of making the hospital more popular and successful with all islanders.
Editor’s Note: Read Ledford’s response to the campaign contributions here.
