This election campaign season has been filled with a level of animus I can’t ever remember seeing before. The lack of civility and the negativity may be reaching an all-time low. Recently the community of Renton has been served up a plateful of disrespect by Steve Litzow, a candidate for the Washington 41st District House of Representatives. The 41st District includes much of the cities of Bellevue, Renton, all of Mercer Island and Newcastle, plus a portion of Issaquah. Mr. Litzow has stated that Mercer Island and Bellevue are the “gold standard,” which implies that Renton is inhabited by people of seemingly lesser status. Certainly from an economic perspective, Mercer Island and Bellevue may rate higher on someone’s scale, but to insult and demean an entire community, smacks of a degree of elitism and arrogance which defies logic. One might suppose that since he’s running for 41st District REPRESENTATIVE, he might consider the fact that he would be expected to represent all of the citizens in the district, including the people of Renton. I can’t believe that the majority of the citizens of Bellevue, Mercer Island, Issaquah and Newcastle feel that Litzow’s “gold standard” statement reflects positively on their communities.
I have known Fred Jarrett for 45 years, since we first met in the North Mercer Junior High band, last chair trombonists both. Throughout that time, I have seen Fred accomplish great things for our community through his hard work, bipartisan spirit and his willingness to really listen to constituents.
I am glad to see the differences in the race for Position 1, 41st District. (Renton Reporter, Oct. 18, Marcie Maxwell vs. Steve Litzow)
The 41st District finally has a clear choice for State Senate in Bob Baker, and I am excited about it. I am even more excited about helping Fred Jarrett, ex-Republican who never really was a Republican, lose! I have attended community meetings, as well as e-mailing and calling Fred, about various issues in the past years, and I never get an answer that would help me feel represented as a conservative voter.
My husband and I have three children in the Renton School District. Since 1996, I have been extensively involved with all aspects of their schooling, the schools they have attended, the district itself, PTAs, their sports activities and the community-at-large. Our oldest two are in AP and Honors classes; all three consistently maintain a 3.75 – 4.0 GPA and are more than adequately challenged by their teachers.
As we count down the days to one of the most historic elections, the residents of Renton in the 41st District have an opportunity to elect one of our own citizens, Marcie Maxwell, for state representative.
Renton needs grand civic spectacles and 24/7 districts to attract visitors, and the Renton city center is the place for these investments. The City of Renton does not have a regional draw and has not had one since Longacres left.
I am a mother of a 23 year old with autism and Initiative 1029 will hurt us greatly. After hundreds of hours of deliberation on a similar union-promoted “training bill,” our legislators voted No because it cost $30 million and hurt families caring for loved ones with developmental disabilities.
I was pleased to read your endorsement of Marcie Maxwell for our 41st District, House representative (Renton Reporter, Oct. 18).
For the first time in a long time, Renton-area voters in the 41st Legislative District, have an opportunity to vote for one of their own in the state legislative race. Marcie Maxwell is running for the open seat in the 41st for state representative. Marcie has played a major role in the Renton community for many years. She has been a very successful small business owner, and she is currently serving her second term on the Renton School Board. In 2000, Marcie was chairman of the Board for the Renton Chamber of Commerce, and in 2004, was selected as “Citizen of the Year!”
Yea! Duvall Avenue is getting some long-awaited improvements. While this is a huge project that impacts hundreds of homes, I think most, if not all, residents are willing to sacrifice for awhile for the overall good. I live on the corner of a culdesac and Union Avenue with my only way out via Union.
I would like to apologize for my negative letter to the editor (Sept. 20, 2008, Renton Reporter) about Sarah Palin; in hindsight, attacking anyone is really not a productive thing to do, and I deeply regret the volley of negativity it spawned. My intention was to offer some balance for what I perceived to be the lack of pro-Democratic letters regarding the national election printed in this paper; but the opposite has been soundly accomplished, at least as far as what this paper actually publishes.
I read your story (Oct. 1, 2008, Renton Reporter), and I am so glad these women have Vision House to help them.
The McCain/Palin ticket represents a continuation of the dangerous, neo-conservative Bush/Cheney package and would keep the world at terrible risk of continuing terrorism.
Melissa Kruger’s anti-Palin letter seems to have ignited a fire under the Alaska governor’s supporters. First, she was literally rebuked by Lamont Faulkner who line by line refuted everything she stated. Then on Wednesday she gets it from Jason Oleston whose letter I can’t even understand. I just get a sense he, too, is trying to defend Palin. Forget the car wash and Covenant House and let’s get real. Let them try picking this apart.
As the United States now faces another financial meltdown, our elected officials from both parties are treating it as an opportunity to portray themselves as representing their constituents, when in reality they are a major contributor to many of our country’s ills and problems. The U.S. House and Senate members are addicted to the special-interest money from lobbyists filling their re-election coffers. They no longer represent their constituents.
Since accepting her party’s nomination for vice president, the woman who could be a heartbeat away from a desk in the Oval Office has consented to three interviews and participated in one Town Hall meeting with her running-mate. Sarah Palin’s uninspiring, unconvincing interviews with ABC-TV’s Charles Gibson and CBS-TV’s Katie Couric clearly raised concern among McCain – Palin campaign officials.
I just moved to Renton and don’t know much about this “newspaper,” but is it common for you to print bald-faced partisan hack lies without the mere attempt at fact-checking?
