Thanks to Sen. Ranker for guest column | Letter

Published 9:56 am Tuesday, January 20, 2015

I greatly appreciated the guest column by State Senator Kevin Ranker in the Jan. 14 issue of The Islands’ Sounder. I am in agreement with Senator Ranker that top priorities for the current legislative session include a balanced budget that protects education and other critical programs, protecting access to contraception and family planning, making polluting industries financially accountable and regulating the transport of hazardous materials. I hope that Senator Ranker will add reforming our criminal justice system to his list of top priorities. There will be several bills before the legislature this year aimed at replacing costly incarceration through drug treatment, job training and education. The senator’s support of these measures will go a long way toward seeing them enacted into law.

I urge The Islands’ Sounder to invite our representatives, Kristine Lytton of Anacortes and Jeff Morris of Mount Vernon, to share their views and priorities in guest columns in the near future. I urge all islanders to keep in touch with our representatives during the legislative session this winter. They can be reached at: http://leg.wa.gov/.

Tom Rawson

Eastsound