Editor,

Kudos to The Record for planning an election forum as announced in Sept. 12 editorial, “The Record to hold September voter forum.”

Having questions set and then opening the floor to questions gives everyone a chance to be a part of the process. Democracy depends on people having a voice in elections and issues. The newspaper is an excellent format to keep voters informed and discussing the issues, in elections and beyond.

Too often citizens feel their voices don’t matter, but this is not the case. By speaking to our elected representatives after the elections, we can continue the power of democracy. For example, the U.S. Senate is currently considering a bill that will save the lives of women and children in our world. About 16,000 children under the age of five and over 800 women still die each day from problems we know how to solve. Senate Bill 1911 not only addresses that problem, but reforms our developmental aid agency, US AID, to use funds more efficiently and transparently. So we can ask U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell to support this bipartisan and life-saving legislation, using our voices to make a difference.

WILLIE DICKERSON

Snohomish