Letters to the editor

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 31, 2026

Rep. Jim Walsh’s vacuous ideas

On July 29, we were treated to Aberdeen’s Rep. Jim Walsh’s words of wisdom. There were 18 points, and I can only address one in this missive.

Rep. Walsh hates housing first. Now, this idea is a target because, while people do get housing, these people (aka citizens) are not deemed worthy of poverty. I don’t make excuses for their foibles. But what exactly is Walsh’s solution?

He wants to demand treatment first. Where exactly will that happen? Who will pay for it? Rep. Walsh seems to think there are treatment facilities just waiting for people to show up at their door. There aren’t. There are not enough treatment facilities now. So, how does he plan on bringing capacity up to demand? Which leads to the next point, where does the money come from?

The money won’t come from the federal government. They have placed new restrictions on spending that will make Medicaid funds unavailable. Walsh isn’t going to propose new spending. That is exactly what he doesn’t want. So, how does he expect people without stability to pay for it? What we get is civil commitment. But where are the resources for that?

Mental health treatment has the same problem. Current facilities are inadequate. Is the solution jail? Where is the money for increased capacity and who will provide it? Is it going to be the private equity crowd who are looking to make a profit? Their goal isn’t to solve the problem, it is to maximize shareholder wealth. The jails they currently run show that.

What I really think Walsh is getting at is simply cutting spending, or inconvenience, so the people he really cares about, like Brian Heywood, can have more money to funnel into right wing politics.

Andrew Makar

Ocean Shores

The drawbacks of electing sheriffs

The recent debate over appointing county sheriffs has opened my eyes to some of the drawbacks of electing them.

Elections do not necessarily produce the best law-enforcement administrator. They produce the candidate willing and able to run a countywide political campaign.

That already limits the pool. The best person may have the experience, judgment, and management skills, but no interest in fundraising, campaigning, or turning themselves into a public personality.

Grays Harbor County Sheriff Darrin Wallace recently gave me another reason to question the system. In a campaign event, he acknowledged that he may retire before completing another full term. He also described mentoring a chosen successor as part of a tradition within the Sheriff’s Office, similar to how he and his predecessor were brought along.

Mentoring future leaders is responsible management. Running for another four-year term while discussing an early departure and grooming a preferred replacement is something else.

Wallace would not appoint his successor. The county commissioners would. But a sitting sheriff can still put a heavy finger on the scale. His preferred candidate could gain visibility, internal support, institutional credibility, and possibly the advantage of appointment and incumbency.

That sounds less like protecting voter choice and more like politics as usual disguised as department tradition.

An elected office should not become a title passed through a preferred chain of command. Sometimes a fresh perspective is healthier than a leader selected by the existing administration and handed every possible advantage.

Raymond Fraker

Ocean Shores