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On January 16, we submitted an article to BearingArms.com that highlighted Some “Shannon-igans” with Shannon Watts and campaign contribution, two of which highlighted her husband’s business and one of her own non-profit she set up to recruit and train progressive women to run for office. In short, both the business and the non-profit (Rise to Run) didn‘t last due to being non-compliant with reporting deadlines. But there’s more...
According to documents filed with the Colorado Secretary of State, Shannon filed to incorporate Rise to Run on 4/18/17. It didn’t last long, though. As of mid-2018, they were getting dinged for being non-compliant:
In fact, their website has faded into the dustbin of internet history and is no longer able to be accessed. Why is this all important? Luckily, there is still one pdf press release that is able to be seen due to it being on Politico’s server, and you can see the people that were supposedly associated with this non-profit Shannon created:
Rise to Run National Advisory Board members include Brynne Craig, former National Deputy Director of State Campaigns and Political Engagement, Hillary for America; Donna Edwards, former Maryland Congresswoman; Ilyse
Hogue, President of NARAL; Sarah McBride, a transgender activist and National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign; Natalie Montelongo, National Field Director at Voto Latino; Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco and the Lieutenant Governor of California; Brittany Packnett, activist and co-founder of We The Protestors and Campaign Zero; Symone Sanders, democratic strategist and former National Press Secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign; Megan Smith, the United States' third-ever Chief Technology Officer; Kara Swisher, co-founder and executive editor of Recode; Jamia Wilson, activist and Executive Director of Women, Action & the Media; and Nanxi Liu, the Chief Executive Officer of Enplug, Inc. and youth advisory board member at the Lady Gaga Foundation.
Some pretty big names, yet some simple searches reveal no concrete hits. Take Gavin Newsom for example (Google search link here). Or even try Democratic strategist Symone Sanders. Other than the press release that‘s still public on Politico, Same thing. Politico release is the only hit that pops up. This is strange because searching Shannon Watts Rise to Run generates this, which is from her book publisher:
SHANNON WATTS is the founder of Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America—the leading force for gun violence prevention, with chapters in all 50 states and a powerful grassroots network of moms that has successfully effected change at the local, state and national level. In 2013, MDA partnered with Mayors Against Illegal Guns to form Everytown for Gun Safety, nationwide movement of millions of Americans working together to end the epidemic of gun violence. She is an active board member of Emerge America and Rise to Run, two of the nation's leading organizations for recruiting and training women to run for office. Watts is a contributor to The Huffington Post, and Medium. Her writing has appeared in Vogue , Time , The Washington Post , and others. She is a mother of five.
Well, considering how Rise to Run lasted about as long a Kamala Harris’ run for the presidency (wasn’t long), it certainly was NOT one of the nation’s “leading organizations for recruiting and training women to run for office”. This is further backed up by the non-existent internet presence other than Watts specific PR pieces mainly geared towards her speaking engagements and her book. So what’s up with all of this? And most of all, where are the financial reports? Rise to Run was registered as a 501(c)4 after all, and even Moms Demand Action had a 990 for it‘s short time as a stand alone before merging with Mayors Against Illegal Guns to form Everytown.......
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