To the editor:

Barbara Bailey’s and her right-wing cronies are at it again.

Taking what she‚Äôll claim is the “high road” in her effort to unseat State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, Bailey and her supporters have given ammunition to (and done nothing to stop) the right-wing (not-very-local) Good Government Leadership Council from launching another unfair attack on Haugen.

The first of what’s likely to be several nasty hit-pieces landed in mailboxes this week. It features a poorly photo-shopped picture of Haugen  with hands against her ears with the headline, “Mary Margaret Haugen isn’t listening to us anymore.”

Hogwash!

This sort of dirty politics is just business as usual for Bailey who sits on the sidelines claiming she’s “one of us” while disavowing tactics of well-financed hit groups doing the dirty work for her. Less than three months ago this questionable “leadership” council distributed two similar hit pieces. And less than three months ago, Bailey’s reaction was to say she didn’t authorize or have anything to do with the misleading pieces. She claimed she was running a clean campaign.

If indeed Bailey deserves election, she needs to maintain better control over people who work on her behalf. If she’s as an effective candidate as she claims to be, she would have exerted pressure on the “council” in advance of the election.

What this district needs is a senator who works hard accomplishing things for us. Compare the records and there’s no question about it: Senator Mary Margaret Haugen wins hands down. Do we really want a “do nothing” obstructionist with questionable connections to a Super PAC to represent us in Olympia?

I don’t and I doubt you really do either. Ignore the party affiliations behind the names – look at the records. Mary Margaret Haugen has a long list of real accomplishments that have improved the life of the citizens of Island County. (Her work on for continued and improved ferry service is reason enough to return her to Olympia.) By contrast, Bailey’s election piece shows not a single measurable achievement. (It’s filled with empty political buzzwords like “principled” “trustworthy,” “compassionate” but it fails to list one real specific accomplishment on behalf of the constituents she‚Äôs long served as a representative).

Compare the records and there’s no question about it: Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen deserves to be re-elected not only because she listens to us, she goes to work for us.

Larry Lowary

Clinton