Veteran sues councilwoman over campaign ad

Democrats Moses and Barbara Wilson of Bellevue filed suit against Republican King County Councilwoman Jane Hague, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The suit filed on July 8 alleges that Moses – an elderly veteran who is mentally incapacitated – was featured in print and television ads for Hague's 2007 campaign against his will, causing "mental anguish, mortification, (and) humiliation" and seeks monetary compensation from Hague and the Bellevue care center where he was staying.

The Wilsons claim that Moses did not give permission for his image to be used in the advertisements and that the ad also incorrectly insinuates that Moses was indigent at the time of the photography.

"It made it seem like he was a poor homeless person who Ms. Hague was trying to help," Darryl Parker, the couple's lawyer, told the P-I

The Hague campaign responded by saying Moses had signed a release to the care center for his image to be used in advertisements and since his photo had already been circulating in ads for the center, the image could not be seen as an invasion of privacy.

"I don't see that they have an issue," Hague told the paper. "He had a release on file with the agency where he was being given care."