The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

The local and state races this year are bigger than the “he said, she said” and “I feel wronged because I didn’t get my way” hype going around Okanogan County.

The races are about two commissioners and a citizen who dared to challenge the established machine in Olympia and locally that is kept well-oiled by Westside special interest groups such as Futurewise and Conservation NW.

It’s about the recent Hirst decision by WA Supreme Court justices that impacts private landowners and whether they will be granted the right to access the water they paid for without incurring costs that will bankrupt the average citizen.

It’s about keeping all rural lands pristine (ie mismanaged and uninhabited) for the enjoyment of the few philosophical, self-proclaimed philanthropists within our state whom often are paid millions of taxpayer dollars for placing their “wise” and “progressive” restrictions upon their own lands for eternity.

It’s about blurring local, state and federal jurisdictional boundaries where Okanogan citizens will no longer have the protections of a local, state or federal government with functioning checks and balances.

Don’t be fooled by the titles “Independent” or “Nonpartisan,” for the candidates and the organizations that support them are anything but what they claim to represent.

Look at the county level races that were not challenged and ask yourself why.

I encourage you to vote for Sheilah Kennedy and Jon Wyss.

Trinity Stucker

Tonasket, WA