Shred those Sali fliers
Democratic Party leader apologizes for mix-up
BOISE – The Idaho attorney general’s office recommends that anyone who got a campaign flier showing the Social Security numbers of a congressman and his wife shred it.
“Don’t just throw it away, shred it,” said Deputy Attorney General Brett DeLange, who heads the office’s Consumer Protection Unit.
Distribution of a Social Security number could lead to identity theft, DeLange said.
He tells people whose numbers are made public to place a freeze on their credit with the three credit reporting agencies. That will prevent anyone from opening new accounts in their names without their direct permission.
The Consumer Protection Unit offers extensive information, including instructions for contacting credit reporting agencies, on its Web site. Go to www.state.id.us/ag, select “Consumer Protection,” and click on “Identity Theft.”
Meanwhile, the Idaho Democratic Party has apologized for mailing out a campaign flier critical of GOP Rep. Bill Sali, who is running to keep his House seat, that included an illustration showing the Social Security numbers of Sali and his wife.
“As executive director, I take personal responsibility for the oversight,” said Jim Hansen, party executive director. “We agree that it would have been better to black out parts of the document, even though the public agency that released them did not.”
When initially questioned about the flier, Hansen defended it. But he also said, “Frankly, I didn’t think about it. We just published a piece of public information. Anybody can go and get a public document.”
The document was a 1988 tax lien against the Salis for unpaid state income taxes.
GOP state Treasurer Ron Crane weighed in Friday, putting out a press release accusing the Idaho Democratic Party and Sali’s Democratic opponent, Walt Minnick, of acting “maliciously.” The flier came from the party, not Minnick.
“In one sense I am shocked and outraged that Walt Minnick and the Democratic Party would stoop to this,” Crane said. “But in another sense I recognize it goes along with their liberal ideology that the end justifies the means.”