Editor,

I’m responding to Ms. Talmadge’s Dec. 3 letter, “Candidate who mislead doesn’t deserve to win.”

First, to be clear, Ms. Talmadge is not in charge of deciding which candidates misled us, or which ‘deserve to win’ or be awarded any position. That’s not how our Republic or our elections works, regardless of Ms. Talmadge wishing it were so.

She is basing her opinions on a few bits of, what some would call, “Fake news.”

First, there’s Brett Shaver’s letter, questioning his son’s service. Second, there’s the Everett Herald Editorial Board’s opinions. And third, there’s Ms. Talmadge’s misunderstanding of how ‘we the people’ form our opinions.

Brett Shavers letter is central to criticisms about his son. I find his motives and timing extremely suspicious:

Brett is completely opposed to his son’s ‘liberal’ views, so this feels like a father-son feud gone public – I hardly see it as ‘evidence’.

Also, he waited until a week before election day to reveal his “evidence” against Clyde. If this was so important, why did he wait until the last minute to share his hit piece?

I worked for local governments for over 30 years, and I know that the Media are on tight deadlines, meaning they publish or perish, and ‘truth’ is often a side note.

I do not know Ms. Talmadge’s political leanings. I do know, however, that many – if not most – Republicans think the Everett Herald and the Seattle Times are the “Main Stream Media.” Is Ms. Talmadge now suggesting that we trust the ‘fake news’ opinions of those who represent – in Tim Hazelo’s words – the Globalists?

Throughout this campaign I was bombarded by tons of flyers, and there are many candidates who lied, or gave us tractor-loads of ‘good ol’ boy’ manure. We Americans are nothing if not practical, so I ignored these lies, and I tossed the flyers in the recycle.

I read the charges against Clyde Shavers and his responses, and I made an informed decision about my vote. I was not lied to, or deceived by him, any more than I was by other candidates, from Tiffany Smiley on down.

Moving forward I will judge Clyde Shavers on his decisions, and if I feel he best represents our district’s and nation’s interest. That’s how elections work here in America.

David Freed

Clinton