Is there a Doctor in the House?

Published Feb. 5, 2010 at 3:30 p.m.

Chris Bushnell photo from Facebook.

Chris Bushnell, Senior Advisor to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn resigned yesterday afternoon after it was revealed that he lied about having a doctoral degree from the University of Washington...He was also convicted in 1994 of felony bank fraud, although McGinn says he knew about Bushnell’s criminal record when he hired him.
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Publicola was the first to break the news of Bushnell’s resume padding last week...“Christopher Bushnell, PhD” is visible in power point presentations, official documents and Bushnell’s business cards...At the time, McGinn’s spokesperson Mark Matassa confirmed that Bushnell did not have a doctorate, explaining that Bushnell’s appointment was not “based on his academic record” but on his “track record of working with the mayor.” We wonder what McGinn’s volunteer election staff thinks of this hiring method...Prior to his resignation yesterday, Publicola also revealed that Bushnell had sealed all of his academic records from the University of Washington, making it impossible to verify his undergraduate or any graduate degrees.

Bushnell’s criminal record stems from a scheme he concocted with a friend as a teenager in 1994...They hacked into Seafirst Bank computers and changed account information so they could cash fake checks...He was convicted of felony bank fraud and counterfeiting, “paid back $64,000 and was ordered to serve 250 hours of community service.”

We don’t know where Bushnell will go next, but one thing that we can verify on his resume is the very comfortable salary he would have received as a senior advisor: $110,000 a year...If this is the going rate for fake credentials, then we are seriously considering adding “PhD” to all of our correspondence...We believe it will give us a nice aura of credibility...Well that and the title “Mayor” was already taken...

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