Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) has been in the news this week for claiming that a citizen journalist’s video shot near her home is creepy and intended to intimidate her. The irony in this claim is that her legislative chief of staff is the former paid director of opposition research for the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Jeff Fisher has been very open about his tracking and opposition research activities as a paid Democrat operative. His LinkedIn page publicly lists the following qualifications for future employers:

Experience

Research and Tracking Director

Democratic Party of Oregon

August 2011 – November 2012 (1 year 4 months)Portland, Oregon Area

-Conduct opposition research using internet and social media methodologies to develop concise and searchable tracking documents.

-Write detailed memos outlining opposition policy positions.

-Transcribe opposition media and public appearances.

-Record and edit video and audio for TV and internet advertising.

-Assist with Democratic Party coordinated campaigns – including competitive congressional seats, statewide offices, and Oregon Senate and House districts.

-Build, train, and oversee a network of volunteers across Oregon to assist with tracking duties.

Screen shots of the full entry at LinkedIn can be found by clicking here, here and here.

Interestingly, Fisher’s bio at Senator Burdick’s legislative webpage leaves that experience out:

Meet My Staff

I would like to take a moment to introduce my new staff for the 2013 Legislative Session.

Jeff Fisher – Chief of Staff
Jeff is a native Oregonian who has recently joined us from the Democratic Party of Oregon. Previously, Jeff has worked in the UK House of Commons as a press officer for Rosie Cooper MP and as a parliamentary intern for Shadow Minister, Mary Creagh MP. He graduated from the University of Leeds with a MA in Political Communication and Portland State University with a BS in Communication Studies.

Despite this omission, it’s implausible that Senator Burdick was unaware of Fisher’s resume when he was hired, or subsequently when she was seeking cover in the mainstream media for having ducked her constituents and fabricating an excuse for canceling her town hall meeting. Senator Burdick’s claims of victimhood ring hollow. We’ve previously reported on the intimidation and harassment tactics she’s employed against a political opponent who happened to be a state worker. We’ve also reported on the harassment and tracking behavior utilized by the blogger to whom she granted an interview to try to explain herself.

Now we know that Senator Burdick is not at all uncomfortable with trackers, citizen journalists or videos of public figures in casual situations.

It was merely a ploy to engender sympathy and detract from the real story.

Finally, the pearl clutching and finger wagging wouldn’t be complete without a coordinated smear campaign among the “real journalists”. Being just a blogger means that citizen journalists aren’t in the club, and when we do the job they are supposed to do, the target must be destroyed. Biased columnists are making this reporter the target instead of reporting on the real issue – the fact that a State Senator lied, admitted she lied, and clearly had no expectation that the mainstream media would hold her responsible. Otherwise she wouldn’t have felt so comfortable confessing to her fabrication when directly confronted by KOIN 6 news.

Jeff Reynolds

Editor of Watchdog Wire – Oregon. Contact me at Oregon@WatchdogWire.com for story ideas and ways to get involved with citizen journalism in Oregon!

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