Tri-Cities nonprofit says Senate candidate not welcome if politics is his message

The controversial U.S. Senate candidate Joey Gibson will not be allowed to use John Dam Plaza in Richland for a Saturday event, city officials said Thursday.

The Arc of Tri-Cities already reserved the stage and the park for the three-hour window Gibson said he wanted to use it.

The law allows him to stand on a public sidewalk and The Arc officials could permit him to talk with people in the park.

But an official with the nonprofit, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said Gibson is not welcome at their event if he wants to talk politics.

Donna Tracy, The Arc’s program manager, said their event which regularly draws 600-700 people is “not a political thing in any way.”

Hollie Logan, Richland’s communications and marketing manager, said The Arc’s event, the March for Respect, has the space reserved from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The time immediately after is reserved by the city to prepare for Saturday’s glow-in-the-dark egg hunt that starts at 6 p.m.

Richland’s Parks and Public Facilities Director Joe Schiessl said The Arc’s permit gives them control of the plaza during the time they rented it.

‘Keep things organized’

Gibson said in a news release Wednesday that he had planned a meet-and-greet at a Kennewick hotel on Saturday but the hotel denied him the space after being inundated with phone calls.

He was planning to move to the Richland plaza instead before learning it was already booked.

Gibson told the Herald on Thursday that, after talking with city officials, he still plans to be there.

He also said one of his staffers is trying to contact The Arc to see if officials will let him talk with people in the plaza.

“Regardless, we’re going to be there,” Gibson said. “Bare minimum, the sidewalk. But I’m not going to cause a disturbance.”

He also said he’d have about eight staffers with him for his stop “to keep things organized” and would have some kind of sound amplification equipment.

Gibson expected most people to go to his Spokane event Sunday, admitting that the Tri-Cities is a little farther away from where he normally goes.

But he said that his presence could be a benefit to The Arc.

“If anything, it’s gonna bring more publicity to their cause, because it’s a good cause,” Gibson said.

Tracy said the event features people with disabilities sharing their talents, singing and cheering, free hot dogs and a walk around the park.

“It’s a way of celebrating what a wonderful community we live in,” Tracy said. “If (Gibson is) coming to create a different message, that’s not what we’re here for.”

Tracy said she would be at the plaza early Saturday to be available to talk Gibson.

She also said she’d received a couple dozen phone calls about the potential presence of Gibson, but had not yet called back.

Richland Police Chief Chris Skinner said Gibson has a constitutional right to use the park’s sidewalk, but he wants to ask Gibson to be mindful that “it’s still a public walkway and to not obstruct or block pedestrian traffic.”

“I’m sensitive to the vulnerable population we’ll have in our park that day,” Skinner said.

‘A lot in common’

Gibson plans to run for Sen. Maria Cantwell’s seat. He plans to run as a Republican and identifies himself on Facebook as “new right” with a conservative libertarian ideology.

He said he has a good chance of defeating Cantwell D-Wash., calling her a “mini-Hillary Clinton.”

Gibson founded the group Patriot Prayer in Vancouver, which bills itself as fighting corruption and big government with the strength and power of love. It has held multiple rallies in liberal areas on the West Coast.

Gibson says he’s taken on such a platform for his campaign, against “Big Business, Big Pharma,” and drawing references to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

“Old-school Democrats had a lot in common with me (now), back in the day,” Gibson said.

Gibson organized a pro-President Donald Trump free speech rally in Portland in June 2017. The event grew to include thousands of demonstrators and counter-protesters in downtown Portland, with 14 people arrested as counter-protesters clashed with police.

This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Tri-Cities nonprofit says Senate candidate not welcome if politics is his message."