Ballots are out this week. Here’s how you can find out about the candidates | Opinion
League of Women Voters Forums
The Primary Election Candidate Forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Benton-Franklin will be broadcast on July 13th and July 14th at 7:00 p.m. through Northwest Public Broadcasting (nwpb.org/2023) and KTNW TV (PBS), YouTube, the LWVBF Facebook/website at lwv-bf.org. the City of Richland, and the Columbia Basin Badger Club website.
The Candidate Forums will remain available for viewing through Election Day, August 1st. The following candidates were invited to participate:
1. Port of Benton, Commissioner District 2 — Cliff Dyer, Scott Keller, Christy Rasmussen
2. Richland City Council, Council Position 6 — Kent Madsen, Kurt Maier, Marc Newman
3. Richland School District, Director No. 3 — Chelsie Beck, Tony Gonzalez, Nino Kapitula
4. Richland School District, Director No. 4 — Aaron C. Riggs, Katrina Waters, Kari Williams
5. Richland School District, Director No. 5 — Matthew J. Bishop, Gene Nemeth, Jill Oldson
The importance of Primary Elections cannot be underestimated as they determine who goes on to the General Elections. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization that provides voter information and encourages citizen participation in government. Membership is open to any person at least 16 years old who subscribes to the purposes and policies of the organization. Student membership is free.
Beverly Johnson-Torelli, LWVBF President
Mother Earth is getting fouled up
The natural resources — air, water, food and energy, upon which all life depends is fouled up. Listen to your gifted senses — eyes, ears, taste, feel, smell, they tell you it is so. The air, water, and food are polluted with toxic materials, predominantly man-made and distributed. Local, regional, national and world news and technical journals remind us of this on at least a weekly basis. If, how, and when will it all end?
Now that’s the question!
It seems as though it’s not only our environment that is all fouled up, it’s our minds too. Why else would we stand-by and let this happen to Mother Earth? Let’s all clean and clear our mind and stop fouling up and begin some serious cleaning up.
John L. Cox, Richland
Common sense needed in dispute
I don’t necessarily agree with the Franklin County sheriff’s decision to sue the county but I can understand his frustration.
The way he billed the county actually saved the county money and the auditor ignored that. The auditor made this non-issue into a real fiasco. The auditor, Mr. Beaton, made an unbelievably stupid mistake and he should be fired for it. Common sense should have prevailed.
Robert Moore, Richland
Visitors enjoyed golf course eatery
We have always appreciated the restaurants in Tri-Cities. On our latest trip to town, we were delighted to find another superb restaurant — the West Richland Golf Course Restaurant, which had been strongly recommended by friends.
Our lunches were delicious, the view was beautiful, and the owner was delightful. It is well worth a visit.
Jean Campbell, Renton, WA
Letters Policy
The Tri-City Herald welcomes letters up to 200 words and the best way to submit them is through our website. The Herald reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length, and letter writers are limited to one letter published every 30 days. We will run letters from candidates if they are writing about issues, but not if they are promoting themselves. Letters about election or ballot issues must be received no later than seven days from the deadline for ballots to be returned. For the August primary, that deadline is July 25.
