If reading about Ed Prince’s past financial challenges is supposed to make me question his integrity or suitability as a candidate for City Council, it has had the exact opposite effect. In the world I live in, challenges build character, hardships breed compassion, and mistakes become lessons. And losing one’s job, having unemployment benefits contested by an employer, and falling behind on a mortgage are unfortunate setbacks that happen to good decent people.

Ed’s been a close friend of mine for several years, but I’ve only recently talked with him about the struggles he’s experienced in life. As a result of those conversations, I now have even more respect for the man he is today. Ed had a very different childhood than my own, to say the least. Growing up, I never once experienced economic insecurity, and I always had my parents to rely on for emotional and financial support.

Ed had the opposite experience. Every success he’s had in life is the result of the positive choices he made as a teen and as an adult. In my 20s, I racked up an enormous amount of debt on frivolous things, and ultimately paid the price for my irresponsibility. Ed, on the other hand, was busy paying off student loans and saving up for his first home in his 20s. Despite his frugality, his family faced a financial crisis when he lost his job a couple years ago. But the tough times are now behind them, and the experience made Ed even more attuned to the harsh realities of our current economic climate. Isn’t that the type of person we want on our City Council? Someone who understands the true implications of budget cuts, city fees, service reductions, and new taxes on working families, young adults, and seniors on fixed incomes? And more than that, Ed is an honorable person, someone who refuses to sacrifice his values just for the sake of winning an election.

Kevin Poole

Renton