Port of Seattle Candidate has ties to Ports contractor
[Update, N.M. 7/31/07: This March, 2007 Vanity Fair article: Washington's $8 Billion Shadow, is all about Gael Tarleton's former employer and big donor, SAIC. This looks like a pretty creepy company.]
From The Port Observer: http://www.portobserver.com/26.html
Gael Tarleton and SAIC – An Overview
Port of Seattle Commission candidate Gail Tarleton says she wants to restore accountability and transparency to the Port. But Tarleton’s own involvement with a ports contractor raises troubling questions about her own ties to special interests.
• Gael Tarleton’s long time former employer (1990-2002), Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), a large contractor for the U.S. defense and intelligence communities, is in the business of selling multi-million dollar gamma ray container nuclear and biological scanning equipment to ports around the world. In recent years SAIC has been aggressively courting U.S. Ports in an attempt to sell this equipment.
• Gael Tarleton is a shareholder in SAIC and has a personal financial interest in SAIC’s business success. • More than 30 of Gael Tarleton’s top contributors are current or former executives of SAIC, including SAIC’s lobbyist and SAIC’s controversial founder, Dr. J Robert Beyster, who is Tarleton’s largest contributor. SAIC related contributions account for more than 20% of Gael Tarrleton’s money raised as of the last PDC reporting period. • SAIC has a long history of scandal and involvement in questionable conduct related to government contracting. In 2000, SAIC was involved in a campaign finance scandal in San Diego County in which a County Supervisor was accused of awarding SAIC a $650 million dollar contract for the rebuilding of County database infrastructure. Reports in the San Diego press relate that County Supervisor Ron Roberts received several large campaign contributions from former and current SAIC executives, including Dr. J Robert Beyster, Gael Tarleton’s largest current contributor. More at www.portobserver.com
Port of Seattle Candidate has ties to Ports contractor | 10 comments (10 topical)
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