A vote for Marie

To The Eagle:

Southwest Washington's District Three has a long history of representation in Congress by men and women of both parties, most of whom have held our rural interests first in mind, and have represented us well. Now we have a choice before us—the choice of an ideologue from the radical right who wouldn't know Wahkiakum County from Timbuktu, versus a working person's rural Democrat who actually lives in the country, labors for a living, and, as one of us, will represent all of us.

If you think Joe Kent will give our concerns the same attention they received from Jaime Herrera Beutler, whom he defeated in the primary based on a single vote of conscience in Congress, then you are fooling yourself big-time. Reading his statement in the voters' pamphlet, he doesn't show any real knowledge of the district. In fact he doesn't even seem to know who his opponent is: he is still fighting Jaime, the election results, our support for Ukraine, and women's rights over their own bodies. He identifies with a campaign phrase employed by the Ku Klux Klan candidate in the 2016 election. What a sad come-down from the days of Don Bonker!

Fortunately, we have a fine alternative for our votes: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Co-owner (and worker, along with her husband) of an automotive and machine repair shop in Portland, Marie lives with her family in rural Skamania County. She likes to fix things rather than throw them away or buy them new, and she fully supports women's sovereignty over their own health care. I am convinced she will work hard to fix many of the challenges that our district confronts daily.

Please strongly consider joining me in voting for Marie for Congress. I believe she has what it takes to be the strongest voice in Congress for Southwest Washington since Julia Butler Hansen.

Robert M. Pyle, Gray's River