Yesterday I got two pieces of direct mail from my opponent Brad Klippert. One was a compare and contrast piece called “Compare the candidates.” The other was produced by the House Republicans under a committee name of the Transportation Accountability Project. Because there are so many erroneous statements in these negative advertising pieces I feel compelled to respond. Originally, I wanted to put an ad in the Tri-City Herald using Brad’s own piece and language refuting his statements, but the advertising manager wouldn’t allow it. Given that the earliest that I could run advertising would have been the Tuesday Herald, my campaign committee decided it against figuring that most people throw direct mail pieces away, and at this late date in the game, they probably wouldn’t have much impact.

While this is probably true, there are several things that bother me about Brad’s advertising.

1) ALL OF THE CLAIMS ARE FALSE. So while Brad touts that he is a minister and “not a politician”, why would a minister say things about me that are not true, and allow a political group to smear my name across a city that I have faithfully served for 10 years?

2) Brad’s claims come from his own inexperience about Hanford clean-up, transportation funding, and eagerness to misinterpret things that I have said, further polarizing our already polarized electorate. Doesn’t the public deserve to elect people who are experienced on local issues, make decisions based on the needs of a broad number of stakeholders, and who gather the facts, do their homework, and seek to clarify positions before making false accusations?

My experience with politics is that it is best to build bridges instead of build walls, and I have been fortunate in this campaign to receive broad support across party lines. I have people telling me that they are voting for a democrat for the first time in their lives because they believe in my brand of leadership. The Tri-City Herald editorial staff endorsed me for that reason as well.

When I look at the issues and challenges our district, state, and nation face at this point in history, I have to conclude that we would all be better off if we were working in PARTNERSHIP, not in PARTISANSHIP.

That is how I have worked in the past and intend to work in the future.

Carol Moser

Many thanks to Wayne Hogue and the organizers (Marc Spinner and Fred Lamb)of the Prosser Memorial Foundation Golf tournament this past weekend. Besides being the perfect day for golf, it was a wonderful event and a lot of fun. Phil, John, Zack and I came 12 under par (mostly due to Zack’s incredible drives, Phil’s shots onto the green, and John’s putts,) but I managed a couple of shots for the team. Thanks, also, to the campaign team for doorbelling in Prosser on Saturday! According to the team, the residents were very nice, and the pizza at Ventis was excellent!

Carol