UPDATED 1/17/26: Since publication of this story, R.J. Marx has provided KMUN with a transcript of his interview with Brandon Kraft. Aspects of the Q&A-style interview Marx published on Substack were altered for publication — Marx appears to have consolidated some back and forth leading up to a question about a statement of support by the city for the LGBTQ community. In that section, he also combined Kraft’s response to an initial question with another response Kraft gave to a clarifying question. This was not indicated in the piece Marx published. The substance of Kraft’s combined responses was otherwise not altered.
KMUN had been unable to reach Marx ahead of publication, but has updated the story to reflect this information.
—
The Ward 4 seat on the Seaside City Council is still vacant after an email from a constituent and an interview with a local writer raised concerns about one of the candidates.
The email asked questions related to a meme candidate Brandon Kraft posted to Facebook in 2023 that seemed to suggest he was on a government watch list.
Some city councilors also worried that answers Kraft gave in an interview with the former editor of The Seaside Signal were homophobic. The interview was published in a Jan.8 Substack post.
On Monday, the Seaside City Council was poised to select one of two candidates to fill former City Councilor David Posalski’s Ward 4 seat through the end of 2026. Posalski had resigned in December because he was moving out of the Ward 4 area.
But the issues raised in the email and Substack post split the vote 3-3. No candidate was chosen and the matter has been tabled until a meeting on Jan.26.
Kraft, a regional manager for Lincoln Asset Management, has denied the allegations against him.
He called the accusations of homophobia “laughable,” and told KMUN he is not on any government watchlist.
He said he requested and received a copy of the email. He requested and received a transcript his interview with R.J. Marx, the former editor of The Seaside Signal, who published Q&A-style interviews with Kraft and the other candidate, Padraic Ansbro, on his Substack.
Kraft believed context was missing in the answers that were printed in Marx’s blog. The published post does not note if the interviews had been edited or were being presented verbatim.
Near the end of the published interview with Kraft, Marx asks, “The city’s LGBTQ support proclamation? Would you advocate that proclamation next year?”
Kraft responds, according to Marx’s post: “For me, it’s kind of a staple; it’s a kind of thing that just happens. I know you choose to live how you live, do that on your own. I don’t have a problem with it — just don’t force it down my throat.”
City Councilor Heidi Hoffman said she worried about appointing someone who is “openly homophobic.”
To KMUN, Kraft countered that he has a good friend who is gay and he employs and associates with people in the LGBTQ community.
“I’ve employed everybody from all walks of life,” Kraft said. “I don’t have a problem with it.”
On Jan. 17, Marx provided KMUN with a transcript of the interview with Kraft.
KMUN reviewed this transcript and compared it with the published interview. The substance of Kraft’s original responses were not altered for publication on Marx’s Substack, but Marx did combine answers Kraft gave to two questions into a single response and altered the wording of the question he is shown asking the candidate in the published piece.
According to the transcript, Marx asks: “Would you would you advocate a proclamation again? If it came up every June the LGBTQ, would you vote for it?”
Kraft responds: “I mean, It’s kind of a staple. It’s kind of thing that just to me. It just happens. So I know you choose to live how you live. So you’re doing that on your own. I mean, I don’t have a problem with it.”
Marx asks: “But you’re okay with a proclamation?”
Kraft responds: “Just don’t force it down my throat. Sorry. Those are kind of like the hot button issues that I always take.”
With the meme flagged in the constituent’s email, Kraft told KMUN this had been in response to a situation with a friend who was tagged in the post as was Posalski.
Kraft said it was meant as a joke between the three of them referring to a specific situation with the other friend. It read, “Roses are red, violets are blue. I really love being on a government watch list with all of you.”
In the email seen by city councilors, a person identifying themselves as Lisa wrote, “I have questions regarding the candidates currently running for the ward 4 seat on the city council. Have either of them presented background information regarding police or criminal records? Is that even a requirement?”
Lisa then referenced Kraft’s Facebook post from 2023.
“That post raised concerns in my mind, especially considering the attempt to recall Councilman McVey based on the false accusation that he was elected ‘without fully disclosing critical information about his past,'” Lisa wrote.
She wasn’t not able to find more information on Kraft’s social media post.
“So I was wondering,” Lisa wrote, “if perhaps Mr. Kraft has provided, or would be willing to provide any information on this subject or any other possibly questionable things from his past?”
Kraft said the email posed reasonable questions.
“The problem comes in when a city councilor on the dais states as a fact that I am on a watchlist,” Kraft said, referring to comments by sitting City Councilor Seamus McVey.
On Monday, McVey and the other city councilors discussed Kraft and Ansbro following a public interview process. The two candidates had also participated in a public forum moderated by Mayor Steve Wright the week before.
“You know we had two candidates tonight that both presented very well,” McVey said on Monday. “So I have to look a little deeper.”
He said he wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything that’s “going to bring potential backlash to the council.”
He referenced the email and said any implication that a candidate for City Council might be on a government watchlist for an extremist group was worrying.
“To me, that would bring concern about what kind of candidate we’re putting up here,” he said.
“All other things being equal,” McVey continued, “I would have difficulty supporting a candidate who, by their own posting, may be on a government watchlist. Even leaving that aside, one candidate was better able to articulate answers to the questions we gave them tonight.”
He voiced his support for Ansbro, a construction project manager, hypnotherapist and reiki practitioner. McVey, Hoffman and City Councilor Tita Montero ultimately voted in favor of Ansbro. Mayor Wright and City Councilors Seth Morrisey and Chris Binnicker voted in favor of Kraft.
McVey’s comments and the allegations against Kraft prompted Posalski to defend Kraft and push for McVey’s recall in a post published to Facebook Tuesday.
“(Kraft) was not given an opportunity to respond,” Posalski wrote.
“It’s been a very dramatic couple of days and it could have completely been avoided,” Kraft told KMUN.