Thanks to Whidbey News-Times for hosting and reporting the interviews with our two candidates for state senator. I can understand that Mary Margaret Haugen’s feelings are hurt, because folks are critical of her after all the years that she has been in the Senate. Perhaps the 15 years as a senator are exactly the cause of the criticism.

Haugen says she “controls the transportation dollars.” Well, if she controls transportation dollars, maybe she can explain what happened to the money that was appropriated back in 2003 for new ferries to replace the Steel Electrics that had already been in use beyond projected life span by a couple of decades. If that funding for our ferry system had done what it was supposed to do back in 2003 maybe we’d have a couple of new ferries in the water now.

Haugen suggests that if she is not at the transportation committee helm in Olympia, then who will bring home the bacon to Island County? Carried to its logical conclusion, Haugen would have to be a senator for eternity or we’d get nothing for our tax dollars here in Island County.

Well, for this old lady, who used to enjoy the occasional ferry ride with our car in tow, I am thinking that we’d be better off with new dynamic leadership in Olympia. That would be Linda Haddon, who is passionate about guarding our tax dollars and has a certain belief that it is not Olympia’s money, but rather all of our money, and it must be handled carefully with fiscal restraint and a vision for the future.

The fiscal restraint espoused by Linda is certainly much needed in the light our governor and Democratic legislature having overspent Washington state into a huge deficit. Linda has pledged to fight raising taxes and we can depend on her for a promise made, to be a promise kept.

Also, in the article, I wondered how Haugen could declare herself bipartisan as she does quite often. Her very non-partisan statement regarding Barbara Bailey’s work in the House as our representative was untrue and mean spirited. Actually, Barbara Bailey is a very respected leader, who certainly knows “what is going on in Olympia,” and it should be clear to all of us: It is overspending and it has made us debtor state.

L. Robbins

Oak Harbor