ELECTION: Puyallup needs Johnson on City Council

Dean Johnson would bring fresh air to a City Council whose incumbent member at-large makes personal what should be professional.

For example, it has been reported that Johnson’s opponent, the incumbent, is withholding more than 80 city business emails he admits writing through his campaign website. He’s using our tax dollars to repeatedly appeal losing court battles about the emails, despite reprimands from judges.

Some of those emails were written to me about a year after he was elected, in which he strongly suggested my business would not be licensed. I understood it to be a threat and retribution for my civic participation. How many others have suffered his intimidation in silence?

In contrast, Johnson knows how to support private citizens, businesses and colleagues. He currently works in sales, was a local minister for 20 years and has wide bipartisan support. He has a commitment to ethics spelled out on his campaign website and clear discernment of city issues including economic development, infrastructure and homelessness.

Johnson would never waste taxpayer dollars as the incumbent has. Let’s bring a new reputation for civility and fiscal responsibility to Puyallup City Council by voting for Dean Johnson.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "ELECTION: Puyallup needs Johnson on City Council."