To the editor:

In “Bakke promises: No new county taxes” (Page 1, South Whidbey Record, Oct. 1) the current District 1 commissioner describes his vow as “a new pitch.”

For those of us who read further, on Page 11 we learn that there’s a hitch to this pitch. “Bakke said he was still planning to vote for a 1-percent increase on property taxes that the commissioners will consider when they adopt their 2009 budget.”

“He said it’s not a ‘new’ tax, just an increase in an existing tax.”

Question: To your wallet, is a new property tax of 1 percent any different than your existing property tax being increased by 1 percent? You either oppose higher taxes or you don’t.

Mr. Bakke’s “new pitch” sounds a lot like former President Bush’s infamous false promise of no new taxes: “Read my lips.”

We may need higher local taxes to maintain essential services in an era of national economic uncertainty. We don’t need campaign pitches and lip service.

What we need now is the kind of proven fiscal responsibility that Helen Price Johnson will bring to this county.

Hal Seligson

Langley