Vote for the person

I’m voting Democrat and Republican.

The bitter partisanship in D.C. has showed me how much I don’t want that to become a reality in Olympia or Snohomish County.

In the 39th District Position 1 I am voting for Republican Robert Sutherland. Sutherland is a dedicated community activist who taps into the true issues locals care about from taxes, to property rights and car tabs. Sutherland has been on the ballot before and if you go to his campaign website you will see a display of his dedication to the issues he believes locals are concerned about. If you view it for yourself, you will see he is serious, which is what we need.

For Position 2 I am voting for Democrat Eric Halvorson. Halvorson was a surprise in my primary pamphlet, and after looking at his website I learned that he is something Democrats need in our state as Seattle-style Democrats (spend now, ask questions later) are creeping into Olympia.

He is openly against the Income Tax, pro 2A (Republicans are you listening?), and he does this while holding onto Blue State values that we want to keep in our state, like LGBT rights, legal marijuana and women’s rights. Halvorson and his wife run an animal shelter out of their home as well.

Fierce tribalism in our parties will only lead to them becoming more radical and distasteful. Mitigate this by voting for the person not the party.

Avory Hufford, Arlington

Vote no on I-1693

On your upcoming ballot you will see Initiative 1639, titled the “Safe School & Community” bill.

I have read and re-read all 30 pages of this initiative and the only place “safe schools” or schools are mentioned at all is in the title. I have been in law enforcement for 30 years with specific training in making schools safer, threat assessment and active violence response. All that this initiative would do is take your tax dollars to create an unwieldy, expensive bureaucracy that only make things harder for the already law-abiding citizens.

This is not about whether you believe in the 2nd Amendment. It is about wasted and misdirected efforts and money. Making our schools safer involves examining the individual schools and finding ways to monitor who goes in out, setting up safer classrooms, making plans for various incidents and training the teachers and students what do and coordination of all of this with local emergency services.

If the amount of effort, money and personnel this initiative will require was actually focused on and used for school safety our children could actually be made safer. Nothing is more important than keeping our children safe in their schools and this initiative does nothing toward that. This is not just my opinion, the Washington Peace Officers organization agrees and also say Vote No on I-1693. If you care about school safety, Vote No, and ask your politicians to actually focus on the children.

Scott Brennan

Olbrechts best choice

Mike Britt (Letters, 10/13/18) thinks you should vote for Jennifer Rancourt for Cascade District Judge because, in part, her community service has facilitated “children’s social skills and physical capacity development”. I have not seen her at the Boys and Girls Club, but I have watched her at her job as an attorney, and I beg you to vote for any candidate but Ms. Rancourt.

I had the misfortune of being in a Snohomish County courtroom as friends of mine sought a sexual assault protection order for their third-grade autistic son after an assault by a peer classmate of his. (They didn’t want to but the school was going to put them back in the same classroom.)

Ms. Rancourt, representing the 8-year-old assailant, threw out defensive arguments, hoping to find one that would stick. Maybe that was her job, but she ignored any semblance of ethical training when she argued the 8-year-old autistic victim was “simply having consensual sex because he assumed the position at the urinal as instructed by the other boy.” I was appalled, but my friends were devastated. Are these the “social skills and physical development” Rancourt considers when ruling from the bench? I would not risk it. I’m voting for her opponent, Kristen Olbrechts. You should, too.

Michael Wolanek, Arlington

Judges like challenger

We are judges in Snohomish County District Court, and we endorse Jennifer Rancourt in the Cascade Division. Judges rely on evidence. The best evidence available in this election comes from two independent surveys of local attorneys conducted by the Snohomish County Bar Association.

These results stand out:

(1) Attorneys voted for Jennifer Rancourt by an astounding 87 percent over the current judge.

(2) Attorneys rated judges’ performance (decision-making, demeanor, efficiency and impartiality), and the current judge was rated last in the county – ranking 29th.

In addition, Jennifer Rancourt is endorsed by 25 judges currently serving in Snohomish County; the incumbent judge is endorsed by two. That those who work in our local courts every day have such an overwhelming preference in this race speaks volumes.

Jennifer Rancourt has devoted her legal career to representing our community’s most-vulnerable members, earning her a well-deserved reputation for hard work, integrity and leadership. Ms. Rancourt has also proven to be an exceptional judge pro tempore and she has skillfully presided over profoundly difficult cases as the chair of Washington’s Clemency and Pardons Board. Quite simply, our community should not pass up the opportunity to elect a judge of her caliber.

Presiding Judge Anthony Howard Judge Tam Bui Judge Beth Fraser Judge Jeffrey Goodwin

Planned Parenthood

I saw the movie Gosnell about the convicted murderer, Dr. Kermit Gosnell. The Philadelphia abortionist was found guilty in May of 2013 of three counts of murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, 21 counts of illegal late-term abortion and 211 counts of violating informed-consent laws. Gosnell is now serving three-consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

This non-graphic film highlighted Gosnell’s delusional disregard for humanity, not only for the aborted infants, but also the women who came to him in desperation. Gosnell’s 30-year abortion clinic business, Women’s Medical Society, had not been inspected for 16 years.

What about Planned Parenthood at 1509 – 32nd St. in Everett? When was this facility inspected by Snohomish County Health District?

Legal, surgical abortions end the lives of several unborn children each Wednesday at the Everett Planned Parenthood. Do we care?

Ed Mohs, Marysville