Supports Bill Stoltze

al I am very aware of the importance of the upcoming vote for the new Senate Seat F that represents the Greater Palmer area as well as Butte and Chugiak/Eagle River.

I believe election campaigns should be positive, honest, constructive and about what a candidate can and will do for the voters.

Negative campaign rhetoric has gotten way OUT of hand for this race and especially from candidate DeLena Johnson. The voters in the city of Palmer in particular are owed more than this. Ms. Johnson was re-elected 18 months ago to the position as Mayor of the city of Palmer and all the duties that go with that position. She has, however, seemed to use the last 18 months as a springboard for the campaign she is now engaged in for Senate seat F.

The mayor of the city of Palmer should be available to be an active and engaged elected official. I am dismayed by her record of absenteeism, both at council meetings and at other functions in Palmer where she is a no-show despite the expectation that the mayor would attend and speak in her official capacity.

While these may sound like “negative comments,” they are simply observations made by city of Palmer residents. The voters are not ignorant and they do take notice of what is going on and they do talk about it.

During my final two years as a city council member in Palmer, I cannot begin to count the number of times Mayor Johnson praised Bill Stoltze for his unfailing support for Palmer. Check the records — she time and time again referenced Bill Stoltze as the individual who always came through for Palmer’s needs legislatively. In fact one year ago she proclaimed him an honorary citizen of Palmer and presented him with a key to the city of Palmer for just that reason. To now mock his years of service and achievements and use that as campaign fodder is hypocritical to say the least.

Ms. Johnson’s campaign strategy of name-calling and making disparaging remarks towards anyone who disagrees with her is not only unprofessional but insulting and in bad form. Her taking sole credit for the collective achievements when referencing the City of Palmer when she is one vote out of seven on the Palmer City Council and her consistent practice of blaming others when things go wrong does not reflect the type of individual that I want representing Palmer in Juneau for the next three years.

Katherine Vanover

Palmer