To the editor:

It is in our best interest as citizens of Island County to re-elect Dave Mattens to the office of county assessor this fall so he can continue his work of making the assessor’s office more efficient and responsive to the needs of the public.

Dave has substantially improved and updated the assessment and property tax system that was broken when he took office as county assessor. He also brought transparency and public trust back to the workings of the assessor’s office.

Dave continually seeks to improve the operation and efficiency of the office by seeking input from private citizen, companies and organizations on the island as well as numerous local and state agencies.

Dave began his term by providing leadership in the assessor’s office. He organized methods to track the progress of property inspections, statistical updating, exemptions, land segregations, mapping and appeals that permitted the sections in his office to operate more efficiently. He devotes substantial time to staff training and meeting with the public to answer questions and to explain the procedures in his office.

We have found a good person for the job — let’s keep him.

Jay Ryan

Langley