Everyone is focused on president and senate, but Pierce County elections matter more | Opinion

Pay attention to local elections

As we are now in the eye of the storm that is the 2024 election season, it is understandable that the presidential and national Senate and congressional receive the focus. However, my political PSA for today is that county and city elections MUST demand just as much of our voting focus and critical thinking this year. It is time to start calling out the cowards that currently occupy our county seats and city council seats. We are being governed by weak-spined politicians that have abandoned managers, business owners, hard-working employees and turned our business districts and cities over to the criminal element that steal, threaten, set fire (literally and figuratively), and terrorize employees and shops with impunity. They get away with it because instead of standing up for victims, for truth, and for the rule of law and order, the politicians cower and cave to “feel good” politics, misguided values and ignore accountability. We need judges who put victims first, city councils that empower law enforcement to do their job and handcuff criminals not business owners, and true leaders with courage that will say crime will not go unpunished on our watch.

Elaine Sycks, Puyallup

Whose faculties are in doubt?

(August 26, 2024) This past weekend, I received a “Dear Patriot” fundraising letter from the Republican National Committee. The white envelope was stamped with a big “August” in blue.

The letter was printed on letterhead with “President Donald J. Trump” at the top and his signature at the bottom above “President Donald J. Trump.”

The letter began by saying the next two months of the campaign “are crucial to help elect a Republican President and making certain Crooked Joe Biden is sent packing back to Delaware.”

The letter went on to say the “Far-Left” spent $3 billion in 2020 “buying Joe Biden his place in the White House” and “wants four more years of the most corrupt president in our nation’s history.”

While Trump is known to meander into fantasy talk when parting from his scripts, this is so much worse. Biden has not been in the race since July 21. It is time to question this old man’s cognitive ability.

Penny Drost, Fircrest

Cheers to election officials

I recently had the privilege of being trained to be an election observer. I did one shift during the primary, and this morning I got to observe the hand recount for the Lands Commissioner race. Pierce County election officials and a large contingent of temporary counters efficiently, securely and with good humor finished the job in just two days (Friday and Saturday) and a couple of hours this morning.

As busy as those election officials were, they always answered our questions with grace and pleasantry. Learning about all these dedicated civil servants do to ensure accurate and transparent processing of our votes makes me proud to live in Pierce County. If you read this, thank an election official today! And if you don’t think your vote matters, consider that only 51 votes separated the number 2 and 3 spots for the job.

Helen Mansfield, Bonney Lake

Hines should propose solutions

Why does Deputy Mayor Hines need to go on a listening tour for a week? I would hope that Hines would stay home or in a library and study; spend time understanding how we can solve issues that Tacomans have been struggling with for several decades in some cases. Anyone on the City Council should already be well aware of the top concerns of most Tacomans.

I would hope Hines would use a week to talk with local experts to understand why Tacoma continues to be more violent than Seattle per capita.

I would hope Hines would study how funding can finally be secured for a Hilltop Library after a decade-plus wait.

I would hope that Hines would study the issue of tree canopies and propose legislation that actually addresses the issue and contains the necessary supports.

Hines writes of “small steps” like updating bike infrastructure, yet it costs millions of dollars to update a few blocks in Tacoma. Serious analysis is needed to secure funding for these “small steps” towards better safety advocates have sought for years.

Are we left to just hope?

Chris Eberhardt, Tacoma