Editor,

Recently, I heard Tim Hazelo speak about the ills facing our nation: crime, drugs, homelessness, Trump stealing an election! (wait, how’d Tim sneak that one in?). He also believes “liberals” are assaulting his rural lifestyle and terrorizing farm stands.

But if we look beneath Tim’s good ‘ol boy facade, we find someone who doesn’t know or care about being a county commissioner.

For example, at an ‘Old Goats – Fully Informed Voters’ meeting, Tim couldn’t see why we need a county administrator. But then — in a moment of rare honesty — he admitted, that “he’s not in office, and doesn’t have the knowledge that the current county commissioners have.”

Therefore, Tim Hazelo is changing his campaign slogan to, “County commissioners: I don’t know what they know, and I don’t really care!”

He’s clueless in other ways. He doesn’t like Conservation Futures funding, but doesn’t realize this accounts for less than 1% of our property taxes (and the county only gets a total of about 15% of the property taxes).

Tim and friends don’t get the basics: that our county commissioners have nothing to do with high food prices, illegal drugs, securing borders …. But listening to Tim, you’d think he’s running for U.S. senator, or emperor of Island County!

Tim Hazelo is running a “tall-tale” (or is it a deep state or fairy tale?) campaign. We can only imagine what he’d do if he won:

Perhaps from his lofty Coupeville throne, he’ll direct the assessor’s office to roll back property values?

Maybe Tim will “weaponize” the prosecutor’s office and sic ‘em on Democrats committing “voter fraud”? Or, he’ll have county sheriff’s guard ballot drop-boxes 24/7, so undesirables (liberals, Tim’s cows and chickens, transplants from Yakima, etc.) can’t vote.

Or maybe he’ll shut down the Public Health Department because it’s science-based, and he believes in medical freedom?” …. Imagine the savings from firing all those workers!

If this seems absurd — even to the Old Goats — it is! But these are the “Good ‘ol Boy Tall Tales” Tim Hazelo is running on.

Back here in the real world, Commissioner St. Clair has both the necessary knowledge and experience. She and others set aside politics to work and act as our commissioners and all elected officials are supposed to – in service to all of us.

David Freed

Clinton