The disparaging 14-by-8 inch attack ad against Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen in the Sept. 3 issue of the Whidbey News-Times was paid for by the so-called Leadership Council in Olympia.

Their misinformation is intended to mislead voters about Sen. Haugen’s stellar record on behalf of citizens of the 10th District. For example, the ad asserts that Senator Haugen “even voted to use tax dollars to pay for political campaigns (SB 5278).” This is an outrageous lie.

SB 5278 states that “public funds … shall not be used to finance political campaigns for state or school district office. A county, city, town or district that establishes program to publicly finance local political campaigns may only use funds derived from local sources to fund the program. A local government must submit any proposal for public financing of local political campaigns to voters for their adoption and approval or rejection.”

Clearly, Sen. Haugen did not vote to “use tax dollars for political campaigns” as the ad states. Other aspects of this ad are equally misleading and disingenuous. It would be regrettable if candidate Linda Haddon does not disavow these tactics.

Trudy J. Sundberg

Oak Harbor