To the editor:

Just before the primary votes were due I received a flyer implying that a person with white hair and 30 years experience was not capable of being our senator, and it made me stop to think about what we get from 30 years. This is the way I see it:

Thirty years gets us experience. When our legislature was reminded that funding education is mandatory, the budget must be balanced, and we were in a recession, some very painful decisions needed to be made. It was critical that all options be looked at. This was a time when experience counted. When the budget must be cut and balanced, it is very important to know where the “meat and muscle” end and the “bone” begins. Our budget had to be cut to the bone, and Mary Margaret Haugen has the experience to know where one ends and the other begins.

Thirty years gets us seniority on important committees and brought Washington State University to the Everett Community College campus creating jobs and assuring that more youths could take upper division classes locally. It guaranteed safer highways by putting “rumble strips” on Highway 2 and is saving lives.

Thirty years gets us clout. It brought jobs to Washington by using that clout to ensure that new ferries were built locally. It also brought another Amtrac train to our area giving us more transportation options.

Mary Margaret may have naturally white hair and be a little older than her opponent, but the 30 years she has represented us have been very good for this area. She has proudly represented us all on a strictly nonpartisan basis. In these truly ugly partisan times where candidates will do and say anything to be elected, she is a breathe of fresh air.

She is not a politician. She is our neighbor and represents our interests. She supports the Growth Management Act that prevents sprawl and preserves neighborhoods and farmland. It would be very sad for our community to have her replaced by a politician who skews the facts and then promotes them as the truth.

My vote is for experience, seniority and clout as well as honesty. My vote is for Mary Margaret Haugen.

Betty McCadden

Camano Island