Instead of listening to the hype and misinformation, please take the time to find the truth regarding our greater Fairwood area annexing to the City of Renton. I have been a Fairwood resident for more than 43 years. I am the retired fire chief of Fire District 40 (Fairwood/Cascade/Benson) of which I have been associated with for more than 35 years. The fire district recently decided to contract all fire and emergency services to the City of Renton. It has worked extremely well.

On Nov. 2, we will have a chance to shape our future governance by electing to have the City of Renton provide all of our services. With this choice we can have better police services, long-term economic stability for our community, have lower taxes, be able to preserve the integrity of our neighborhood and at the same time have a higher level of service. Doesn’t that sound great? Visit the website at www.chooserenton.com to obtain more information on your choice of governance. I am excited about the new direction, a new enthusiasm and a commitment to a vision and path that will serve our community well.

Given the present economic situation in King County, I think it is pretty clear that if we remain “unincorporated” we can expect our service levels to go down. King County has stated that our service levels will be reduced. King County has already taken one-half of our police force away due to the Panther Lake annexation to the City of Kent. There are no options this time. Please join me and vote to approve the annexation and improve our public safety.

Doug Gibbs

Renton