Seventeen people work in the Island County Assessor’s office, including our current assessor, Dave Mattens, and his opponent, Mary (Wilson) Engle. Of the 15 people remaining, eight of them have voiced support for Dave Mattens. Three people have voiced support for Mary Engle. Four people are neutral.

Mary Engle published emails sent to her by the assessor and deputy assessor on her website as proof of their endorsement of her qualifications. This was a blatant attempt to create the false illusion that the two men supported her candidacy. In fact, the deputy assessor is unwaveringly behind Dave Mattens in this campaign. The emails were sent to her as encouragement, not endorsements of her candidacy.

Mary presents a long list of professional courses on her website that leads the reader to believe that she is a well-educated candidate. With the exception of three courses that required an examination, the rest of her credentials required nothing but a signature showing she was present. No testing was required. Of the three courses she took that required testing, she managed a passing grade in two of them. After three attempts, she still has not passed the third one. She nonchalantly states that she is “not a good test taker.”

Mary has stated that classes and courses required for continuing education are a waste of her time. However, the cost of the courses, plus transportation, food, lodging and wages amount to a substantial investment by Island County taxpayers. It would be nice if Mary Engle was more grateful for the opportunities given her. Wasting educational opportunities and taxpayer money is something Dave Mattens has never done. He knows we cannot afford to waste money in Island County.

Dave Mattens took many courses over his four-year term as assessor. None were required, but he was anxious to learn all he could about the appraisal process. He passed all exams with high grades. He is an intelligent, hard-working public official who is an inspiration to his employees. He is an excellent manager and has the ability to think outside the box when problems need solving. He is focused on serving the public and saving money for the taxpayers, recently demonstrated by installing new technology that improve the functions of the office. He kept all his campaign promises. He encourages excellence from his employees, whose morale and enthusiasm have increased exponentially since Dave was elected four years ago.

We strongly support and endorse our assessor, Dave Mattens, as the only candidate who is qualified for the position of Island County Assessor.

Gerald E. Bur, Ron Telles, Dan Jones, Morrie Parker, Mary Welshans, Todd Burlington, Shirley Sorrows, Kari Burns