As a resident of Lewis County who values public safety and the critical role our law enforcement plays, I must loudly call out District 2 Commissioner Lindsey Pollock’s professed support for law enforcement, which she enthusiastically spoke about during the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Chamber election debates at O’Blarney’s in Centralia on Oct. 10.
In December 2023, the commissioners voted on the 2024 budget, and the outcome highlighted critical differences in priorities. Commissioner Pollock voted against it, primarily, I believe, because she wanted to defund the sheriff’s office and the jail. This decision would have severely jeopardized public safety in our community.
Commissioner Pollock has consistently worked against the sheriff’s office, particularly during critical budget discussions. Her desire to not allocate the necessary funding to hire more deputies and other tools requested by the sheriff’s office undermines public safety and, by extension, public trust. It also calls into question her understanding of the problems facing our community and her office’s seemingly dysfunctional working relationship with the sheriff’s office.
This pattern is especially concerning considering Commissioner Pollock and her husband have called the sheriff’s office many times in recent years — often about trivial issues like their neighbors’ chickens and other animals. These frequent calls have resulted in protection orders being placed on the animals themselves, I’m told, costing taxpayers in wasted law enforcement resources.
She says that she is a competent shepherd of public funds, yet this is one of many examples that prove she is clearly not.
The chickens have come home to roost. Cast your vote accordingly.
Mitchel Townsend
Silver Creek
