I voted for Tom Morphet and Heather Lende in recent elections. I like Diana Lapham and Don Turner Sr. as people and I hope their words in the media regarding local elections were not meant as badly as they came out. Those words and attitudes influenced how I cast my vote.

I am not a liberal, nor a “Mud Bay type,” a “hippie,” or whatever that means. I am conservative. I am a hard-working wage earner, so I represent the “working man, for the people who want to see some good, responsible development in Haines.” I am fiscally conservative and don’t believe in spending on things I cannot afford.

Hearing a statement on local news to the effect that the harbor is not for the residents, it is for fishermen, upsets me. I use the harbor and help pay for it with taxes. I do not believe in “accepting free money and taking risks with moving forward” in the name of progress unless a project is reasonably funded.

I believe in using respectful words when speaking about fellow residents. Typing people as “hippie” or “Mud Bay type” and implying that people who vote in a liberal manner have no work ethic is not true nor respectful.

As assemblyperson Lapham stated, “The people of Haines have the power to elect a good assembly.” With a 45 percent turnout last Tuesday, they did.

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