VETERANS CALL ON DAVE SCHMIDT TO RETURN OVER $30,000 IN "LOST WAGES"

Snohomish River and Historic First Street

by: Rick Hegdahl
Veterans in Washington State are demanding former State Senator Dave Schmidt return over $30,000 worth of campaign contributions that he paid himself in "lost wages" due to missing 208 days of National Guard duty. The group is also demanding that he release his canceled orders to the public for the National Guard duty he failed to perform because of his 2006 failed state senate race.

Rick Hegdahl, a Navy veteran and Captain of the Washington State Chapter of VoteVets.org said, "Dave Schmidt has either disgraced himself for failing to perform his obligated duty as a National Guard soldier, which he took an oath to serve, or he has disgraced himself by falsifying missing National Guard duty so he could enrich himself. There's no middle ground.

The law does allow someone to claim lost wages if one can verify missed work. In the case of Schmidt, he would have to show an excused absence in the form of cancelled orders, from the National Guard.

"Even if Dave Schmidt was excused from 208 days of duty, to take campaign contributions and put them in his own pocket under the guise of 'lost wages' is extremely shady, and disrespectful of the hundreds of thousands of Guard members who juggle a lot of responsibilities and still make it for duty. That includes other Guard members running for office," said Hegdahl. "If, however, Schmidt does not prove he was excused from duty, we can only conclude that he lied about his Guard duty to line his own pocket. That would be highly illegal."

VoteVets.org is a pro-military organization founded by Veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to be the voice of the 21st century patriot. Its mission is to ensure that today's soldiers have the necessary resources to successfully complete their missions abroad and the support they deserve when they come home.

VETERANS CALL ON DAVE SCHMIDT TO RETURN OVER $30,000 IN "LOST WAGES" AND RELEASE NATIONAL GUARD RECORDS

Rick Hegdahl, 206-227-6280