Kent Council member and candidate Elizabeth Albertson is apologizing for stating in the 2009 Washington state voters’ guide that she is the executive director of the Kent chapter of Communities in Schools, despite being let go from the position in June.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Albertson said she did not understand that she could make changes to her statement in the voter guide between the August primary and the general election.
“I made an error and I apologize for that,” she said. “I won’t make that mistake in the future.”
The apology comes in response to a letter published this week in the Kent Reporter, which accused Albertson of deceiving voters about her employment.
“Do we want councilmembers misleading with what is published in the pamphlet,” asked letter-writer J.I. Stevens of Kent. “Is she ‘using’ a well-respected local non-profit organization to ‘boost’ her resume?”
Albertson said she was the group’s executive director when she wrote her statement in early June, but was let go June 25 because, she said, she “wasn’t very good” at the job.
Candidates who move forward from the primary to the general election have until Aug. 21 to submit a new entry for the November voters’ guide. But Albertson said she misunderstood a letter from county elections and thought the only changes that could be made involved spelling errors and other minor changes.
“It’s an honest mistake,” she said. “I apologize for that.”
Albertson also said she apologizes for and explains the error at every public forum she attends, including the Oct. 19 debate sponsored by the Kent Reporter.
Albertson said she was a founder of the group and spent five years as president of the organization. She said she stepped in to the executive director’s role when the group was between leaders and is embarrassed about the mix up.
“I love this organization, I care about this organization. I would never do anything to compromise it,” she said.
“I take full responsibility for my error in understanding I could change that again,” she said.
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