Open letter to East Vancouver, Washington:

Every election I get insulted with smear flyers from euphemistically-named committees. I am speaking out today because we need not to let this sort of yellow campaigning go unchallenged.

The Right Wing benefits from a complacent, poorly-educated electorate. I got this flyer in the mail this week. Stonier’s opponent and her party have no compunction about benefiting from garbage like this. No attempt is made to support its ridiculous accusation that “she always chooses government;” there are not even any specifics, let alone documentation.

The people who produce this may not have to justify their cynical posturing, but they do have to identify themselves and how they are funded. So, they form a PAC with the Orwellian name of “Quality Communities Committee.” Then, because they have to, they identify their top five contributors…as The Reagan Fund. That’s a giveaway, thankfully.  All the same, this dodge insulates the people who pay for this behind a couple layers of anonymity, and allows Stonier’s opponent to keep her hands clean.

Monica Stonier is a highly respected educator and community leader. To twist that into “she never held a private sector job” is just laughable. Nevertheless, I worry about how many people fail to see through this sort of smear tactic. That’s why we need an educator in Olympia, so our public schools can continue to produce engaged and well-informed citizens.

Please vote, and please do your homework. If mudslinging doesn’t work, maybe it will stop.

Doug Westberg