A friend of many people in our community was running for the fire commission of Lewis County Fire District 5 in the Newaukum and Napavine area.
Tom Crowson passed away at the end of July, just days after the ballots for the primary were already sent out to the voters of Lewis County. As a result of his popularity and known support for his community, he won the majority vote in the primary.
Both he and his opponent went on to be on the ballot in the general election. To remove him would have taken an action by a court of law.
The results of the general election were close, with Tom losing by a mere six votes. This isn’t a negative against his opponent, but rather a quiet tribute to a man who dedicated his life to serving others.
It’s disappointing to see some local news outlets and partisan groups try to turn his passing into clickbait or political commentary. Those who knew Tom would know better. He wasn’t a headline or clickbait; he was a friend. A friend to us and a friend to Lewis County.
Lewis County is better because of him. And we’d all be better with a few more like Tom Crowson.
To turn his tragic passing into a political ping pong match is disappointing to say the least. Tom was a wonderful man, husband, friend and servant to his community.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a social environment that would praise the person rather than use the situation as a political statement.
Ruth Peterson
Curtis
