Friends of Enumclaw-based Artist Shine Light on Alleged Hacking in Space Needle Contest

Patch reported back in October 2012 that Ryan 'Henry' Ward, an Enumclaw resident, was one of six finalists selected by officials at the Seattle Space Needle whose design 'Deep Blue Sea,' might have decked the roof of the tower if online voters willed it so.

When Space Needle officials announced the winner that month and Ward wasn't it, it seemed the contest was over.

But Ward's friend Chris Smith, who also helps run the popular You Know You're From Enumclaw If You Facebook page, thought something was fishy. He and other online witnesses told KIRO this week that though Ward appeared to be winning 23 days into the contest with 21,000 votes, the winning entry, in just a few hours, gained around 10,000 votes when it had just about 11,000 votes to begin with.

KIRO's investigation into the allegation began with someone bragging about the ability to rig the contest on The Stranger's blog, and later to a Seattle software development engineer who, according to his LinkedIn profile, works for Amazon. The winning artist did not appear to be connected to the hacking.

Though the official contest is over, KIRO is currently running a poll of readers asking if 'Deep Blue Sea' should get another chance. To vote, click here.