'It's intolerable': City Council president probes KeyArena bidder donations

SEATTLE -- Council president Bruce Harrell vowed to "get to the bottom" of the money funneled to what watchdog groups call "extremist hate organizations” by the founder of the leading bidder for the KeyArena renovation.

Anschutz Entertainment Group founder Phil Anschutz donated to anti-LGBTQ groups, anti-trans and anti-Muslim researchers, and climate change denial think tanks.

Some of the gay rights concerns surfaced earlier this year in the alt-press and entertainment blogs.  Q13 News found that the Colorado billionaire's private foundation went far further to the right than that, poring hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into groups that questioned sustainable green energy, and claimed mosques are run by the Muslim Brotherhood.

AEG submitted its bid to renovate KeyArena Wednesday and already runs operations there. Bidders for city projects must abide by corporate ethics and responsible progressive values.

The mayor and other council members haven't answered us about the conflict between the donations and Anschutz's company.  Harrell chimed in on the Ian Furness show on KJR---saying this needs more attention before moving forward at the arena.

“We know that Anschutz is sort of a product of his time. He made billions in the oil and gas industry and oil and gas and everything else. I`m not excusing any of his investments. To me it`s intolerable,” Harrell said.

The select committee on civic arenas will start examining the two KeyArena proposals on Monday.