Editor,

I have never been one to write letters to the editor but, being 76, I feel it’s time to start. As a Whidbey Islander for 45 years, I watched many elected officials come and go.

For many years, I was a very strong supporter of state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen. What I liked most about Haugen was her ability to cross over the aisle and work with the “other side” to create bills which benefited her constituents here on Whidbey Island.

Recently, in the Whidbey News-Times, I read letters to the editor about state Sen. Barbara Bailey’s out-of-state contributions. There was then a response which called those letter writers “liars.”

I decided to research both Angie Homola’s and Bailey’s list of contributors through the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Homola had only one out-of-state contributor, Democracy for America. Bailey had a lengthy list, including Reynolds Tobacco, Miller Coors, Tesoro, Burlington Northern Railway, Expedia, 7-Eleven, Anheuser Busch, Chevron and Verizon, to name just a few.

My question is, how much do these out-of-state contributors influence her votes when it comes to issues dealing with the 10th District and Whidbey Island?

I’m sure much of this money will be used in October to pay for TV ads and expensive glossy mailers. Will these flyers once again pay for last-minute mailers attacking Homola as it did in past Bailey campaigns against Nancy Conard and Haugen?

I personally want a state senator who works for her constituents here at home, not in North Carolina or Texas. I believe that person is Angie Homola.

Vern Olsen

Coupeville