I want to thank The Chronicle for their March 7 and 8 articles that clarified some of the campaign ad accusations made by Hiedi St. John against Joe Kent in the 3rd Congressional District race. I hear conservatives call The Chronicle a bunch of liberal leftists and liberals call them right wing radicals, and I sure don't agree with everything printed, but I consider it a pretty fair, moral paper doing a good job in a divided country.
The monthly Republican Precinct Committee Meeting March 7 in Winlock was a special committee meeting to vote on whether to make an exception to bylaws that prevent endorsing anyone other than the current incumbent in a primary election. On Feb. 7, precinct committee officers (PCOs) requested a vote to endorse Joe Kent and all PCOs received notification of the subsequent vote. Lewis County has 96 total precinct positions: 34 are vacant and 42 showed up to vote, the majority demanding a vote by secret ballot. Sixteen voted yes, 27 voted no.
I have been attending these Republican meetings since March 2021 after the fraudulent 2020 election shocked me into doing something. It took a lot of phone calls to contact the local Republican party. Three PCOs said they hadn't attended meetings for a year or two. One senior person told me we lay-people needed to stay out of politics and let experienced people like her decide elections. Another longtime precinct official said in written correspondence to not even to use the term RINO (Republican In Name Only).
I don't care what label is used, but when our elected representatives hide their votes from us and vote to maintain the status quo, in this case, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler's program, then they are supporting what Rep. Herrera Beutler has allowed to happen: inflation, open borders, crime, government overreach and now possibly war.
I'm told, two years ago, the Republican meetings had 10 to 15 attendees. Last Monday, the cars filled the parking lot, the railroad right of way, and extended all the way down the main street of Winlock. The annual Lincoln Day Dinner, organized by Rachel Anderson, chair of the Lewis County Young Republicans, generated a seven-fold increase in what the party brought in compared to past years. People want to get involved and are looking for ways to bring back the America we used to know.
Carla Askew chairs the Lewis County Republican PCO Recruitment Committee. Becoming a PCO is a good way to influence our government at the ground level. She invites anyone interested in becoming a PCO to call her at 360-901-6331. Those 34 vacant positions are important in this year's elections.
And you sure do find out a lot about who's doing what in Lewis County politics — including your own PCO.
Linda Clark
Onalaska
