To the editor:

Hey, what can I say — I like Jeff Lauderdale!

When Freeland was in the throes of chaos and the dreaded $40 million sewer fiasco, Jeff attended the FAIRS (Freeland Advocates for Informed Responsible Solutions) meetings and contributed his engineering expertise (and, yes, he’s got the academic credentials and 30-plus years of experience to back it up).

Jeff has integrity. He lives it every day. He’s served his country as a Navy officer in nuclear submarines. He has responsibly handled billion dollar budgets. This is part of the public record, not just political smoke and verbal spin.

He knows issues from the ground up. He built his own home, doing much of the labor himself.

Jeff has class. In the face of the nastiest smear campaign I’ve ever seen, he has emerged calm, focused on the issues. He carries this calm with him everywhere.

Jeff is professional. His manner is never to demean others. If he is elected commissioner, I have absolutely no doubt that we will have calm, adult leadership at the district meetings. This currently is not happening.

I am an independent. I vote my conscience.

Chelle Brunke

Freeland