Home Washington Cities City of Burien Burien Mayor Matta claims to be mayor of different Washington State City...

Burien Mayor Matta claims to be mayor of different Washington State City in official documents

Glen Morgan

October 2, 2019

3970

Jimmy Matta - 2017 South Chamber candidate forum — Jimmy Matta speaking at a South Chamber meeting in 2017 before he was elected to the Burien City Council

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Mayor Jimmy Matta was elected to the Burien City Council in 2017 (see election results here), and he was elected to the Mayor position by his fellow councilmembers in early 2018. However over the next two years, he claimed he was Mayor of Brier in official documents filed with Washington State’s Public Disclosure Commission (See Jimmy Matta’s financial affairs documents filed with the PDC linked here and here). The City of Burien is located in King County, just south of Seattle. The City of Brier is located in Snohomish County just north of Seattle. Burien and Brier are not very similar to each other with the exception they both start with the letter “B.”

**A close-up of Matta’s report clearly shows he claims he is a City Councilmember in Brier**

In an effort to convince Mayor Matta to correct these documents containing false information, I’ve helpfully filed a formal complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission (linked here – the PDC complaint file can be found here). Presumably, Mayor Matta will correct the past few years of inaccurate financial affairs statements, and the voters of Burien will be relieved to know that their Mayor is indeed aware of which city he represents. We make no judgments about whether his actions as Burien’s mayor indicate that he cares much about the people who actually live there.

Burien Councilman Pedro Olguin fined for breaking campaign disclosure laws

**Burien City Councilmember Pedro Olguin was recently fined $900 by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission two years later for campaign finance violations from his 2017 election. (Facebook)**

Pedro Olguin was also elected to the Burien City Council in 2017 (see election results here). In the process of that successful election, he was able to successfully violate a fairly wide range of campaign finance laws. This author helpfully informed the Public Disclosure Commission of these violations (see here and here for example). After about 18 months of semi-active and half-hearted investigation, the Public Disclosure Commission fined Olguin $900, which he agreed to pay August 5^,2019 (see here).

**Pedro Olguin and Jimmy Matta has successful 2017 elections**

Mostly, Olguin concealed contributions and expenditures and his financial affairs information from the public for months at a time during the 2017 election. His concealment efforts paid off and he was elected to the Burien City Council. $900 was a small price to pay for violating the law. I’m sure he will continue to be just as effective and honest as a Burien City Councilmember.

Burien Candidate Cydney Moore appears to have falsified her financial documents submitted to state agency

During the current 2019 campaign for the Burien City Council, there are some interesting characters running for local office. Cydney Moore is a fresh face in the local campaign scene. According to her website she is endorsed by Mayor Matta. However, she at least knows the correct city council she is running for office (see the documents she filed with the PDC here). Unfortunately, it appears she is concealing some of her financial income from the voters (see this complaint filed at the PDC).

**Memorial wall to those who died from drug overdoses in Vancouver BC next to the “Safe” Injection Site. Could one of these be located in Burien soon as well?**

Moore campaigned for and donated to legalizing marijuana in Washington State, then cashed in on the newly changed law by founding an online marijuana and vaping blog business (see here). She apparently also supports having illegal drug injection sites in Burien, and she will undoubtedly support a new marijuana business planned for Burien, immediately adjacent to a public trail, which will be convenient for those who wish to pick up a little pot in the middle of their morning runs. By all accounts, Mayor Matta is also supporting these pro-drug policies, which might be why he would endorse Cydney Moore. While the pot shops may flourish, it isn’t as clear that vaping will be allowed as Washington State appears likely to ban that activity. The good news is, local drug addicts can protect their lungs from the evils of vaping and second hand smoke while they inject heroin in their veins at these injection sites. That makes perfect sense.

As this author helpfully pointed out to the PDC (see here), Moore’s only listed source of income is child support payments from Des Moines City Council candidate Anthony Marinelli (see here), which is insufficient to pay her identified expenses, nor does it fit with her public statements about her current work history. The PDC will investigate and eventually get to the truth sometime in the next year or two, but the Burien voters most likely won’t know the truth before they cast their ballots later this month.

The City of Burien is not exactly in the most capable political hands right now, but the future can always be improved. Ultimately, it will be up to the voters of Burien to make any decision which might improve their city’s future prospects.

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