Supports Rea Culwell

Dear Editor: I'm a male conservative Republican, at the core of my beliefs are freedom and personal responsibility. I've been a conservative since I turned 18 and have taken my right to vote as a serious duty. I am curious about the number of people in Co­lumbia County supporting Randy Lewis for Prosecutor. It's mystifing that so many would vote in the primary, for a candidate who had not passed the Washington State Bar Exam and has never prosecuted crime. Mr. Lewis is too close for comfort to Charles Thronsen, who has the county's criminal defense contract. Do we want these two to be working out deals for criminals? There are certainly red flags with Mr. Lewis.

Rea Culwell's record is very admirable and she is a known quantity after four years at the job, and eight years prosecuting. Mr. Lewis is a complete unknown as prosecutor. We know from his defense work that he overcharged our county to such a degree that the court refuses to rehire him. If the court won't even hire him, why should the people? Why take a chance on an such candidate to replace one who has done the job well. Why take a chance on a candidate who has been here for a few years and not gotten involved in his community? In all the time Mr. Lewis has been in Columbia County he has only handled a few cases. He came here to retire. Can he even keep up with the work load required? Why vote for a candidate when there are so many questions? My guess is that some people are voting for Mr. Lewis based on the fact that he is running as a Republican. The officeof Prosecutor is not an officeavailing itself to politics. In fact, party influence may be a problem. The job is to pros­ecute crime, not please ones political party. I challenge Columbia County Republicans to look into the qualifications, char­acter, involvement and re­cords of these two candidates to make an informed decision for this very important posi­tion. I am a Republican who takes my voting duties very seriously, I vote for candi­dates only after I have done my research, I urge you to do the same.