SPOKANE, Washington — A heated race for a legislative seat in Washington state is becoming “racy” after it was learned that Democratic candidate Amy Biviano posed nude for Playboy.
Biviano (nee Amy Nabors) is running for the state House of Representatives in the 4th Legislative District, but her campaign was broadsided when it was learned that she appeared nude in Playboy's October 1995 “The Women of the Ivy League” feature.
According to the Western Center for Journalism, the candidate is a Yale educated anthropologist and soccer mom with an adoring husband. And in her Playboy interview the self-proclaimed feminist said, “I wanted to pose for Playboy to show that we’re not asexual man-haters.”
In an essay she wrote for the Yale Herald at that time Biviano said, "So do I believe that my future might be affected by posing for Playboy? Yes, I believe that it will. But, it has made a positive contribution to my life — I gained a sense of self-reliance which I lacked before the posing scandal. Yes, it was fun to have my five minutes of fame both on the Yale campus and on the national scene. It is a nice little boost to the ego to know that some people consider me to be attractive enough to be in Playboy.
"But of course I know now, and I knew when I first chose to pose, that these benefits will fade, and they will only be remembered by a few people searching through dusty archives. However, posing for Playboy has permanently changed me by making me think a little bit differently about myself — I’m now more of a risk-taker, fear social approval less, and know a bit more about what I’m capable of. I may never do something this controversial again, but it’s nice to know that I could and did."
But critics are calling Biviano a hypocrite because of her new squeaky-clean posturing and her attacks on Republican rival, Matt Shea — an opponent of gay marriage — demanding that he reveal the details of his divorce from his first wife.
Nevertheless, in a statement on her website the candidate proclaims her solid citizenry as mother, teacher, small business owner, and “active member of Bethany Presbyterian Church, where I teach Sunday school and serve on the finance committee.”
Despite her wholesome image, Biviano isn't ashamed of her Playboy spread and according to SBS-Seattle.com has released a statement saying her campaign never tried to hide the pictorial and that she believes like “most people in the 21st century” that nude pictures have nothing to do with the challenges facing her district.
But that didn’t stop her opponent from taking a snarky, back-handed shot at Biviano who has until now been a darling of the Democratic Party, “condemning” her nude appearance.
“I am saddened by the release by a national media outlet of my opponent’s involvement in pornography. I strongly condemn the release of this information. Our campaign was aware of this information several months ago, and made a very determined decision to not use or disperse this information in any way, shape, or form. I specifically instructed the few members of my campaign team who knew of this situation to not disseminate this information, engage in negative, personal attack campaigning, even though my opponent had already done so. This type of negative campaigning is exactly what is wrong with politics today. While these revelations are indeed alarming, my heart goes out to Amy and her family. My wife Viktoriya and I will continue to pray for her,” Shea said.
