After two long lunchtime discussions with Clallam County commissioner candidate Ron Richards, I appreciate his wealth of talents and experiences.
I also realize that he is philosophically entrenched at the far end of the tired old left/right, liberal/conservative, oversimplified political polarization that plagues our country at national and local levels.
This oversimplified mind-set increasingly paralyzes our local and national elections and discourages pragmatic solutions to very complex problems.
His list of supporters clearly verifies this.
Before retiring, I worked directly with Richards’ opponent, Randy Johnson, at Green Crow Corp. for more than 20 years.
On issues both small and large, he challenged stale assumptions and beliefs in order to encourage creative thinking and collaborative solutions.
If elected, he will rely heavily on his fellow commissioners — both of whom are up to the challenge — and county employees to think outside the box in order to formulate creative solutions to the complex problems we face in Clallam County.
Randy is colorblind; he does not see things as partisan red or blue or Republican or Democrat.
If you want status-quo conflict and inaction, vote for Ron Richards.
If you want pragmatic and progressive solutions, please vote for Randy Johnson.
Harry Bell,
Port Angeles
Bell worked as a research and environmental forester for Rayonier Inc. and as chief forester and director of environmental affairs for Green Crow.