I received my Lewis County voters’ pamphlet today. I am appalled at the lack of information it contains. I counted 159 individuals running for an office. I counted 81 of those individuals as having provided no information. That is over half of the people running.
I will admit that some of those 81 did have contact information listed. However, that very minimal information does not provide any ability for a voter to make an informed decision, nor does it provide a basis for discussion with our neighbors so we can make the best choices possible. Nor does it help convince me any of these people are qualified for any position.
These people are hoping to get positions that allow them to have a significant impact on our daily lives. That is, they will be spending our hard-earned money on civic projects. They will be making recommendations for future taxes and levies. They will be establishing new policies. They will be sitting on a school board and helping to set the agenda for our children’s education.
If we were to consider the simple task of filling out the questionnaire for the voters’ pamphlet as a homework assignment for school, 50% of those running would fail. Yet many of these 81 people who would fail a simple homework assignment want to be on a school board so they can impose their ideas of proper education onto us and our children. The questionnaire cannot require more than a few minutes to complete. If candidates do not know the answers to these simple questions, they have no business running our local agencies. If they cannot find the few minutes in their busy schedules today to complete the questionnaire, how will they find the time once elected to attend meetings or do the research required to properly carry out their tasks?
We, as the residents of Lewis County, need to expect, and to demand, that our elected leaders do better.
Wayne Osborn
Chehalis
