Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor | The people have spoken
Another election season has come and gone. Ballots were cast, counted, victories celebrated, and the familiar vows of “wait till next time” already murmured across town halls and kitchen tables.
Across the county, from busy cities to quiet crossroads, neighbors once again carried out the most fundamental duty of citizenship: making their voices heard. Campaign signs came down, websites went dormant, and daily routines resumed. But beneath this ordinary rhythm lies something extraordinary: the durable strength of democracy itself.
Every vote cast, whether calling for change or for stability, reflects a simple but powerful truth that our choices matter, our institutions belong to us, and the final say rests with the people.
Winners will step forward to lead; those who fell short will regroup and prepare for another day. But the message remains unchanged: democracy works because people care enough to participate.
And when the dust settles and the headlines fade, one truth stands firm:
The people have spoken — and that’s exactly how democracy should work.
A test of democracy in the 7th District
However, in the 7th District of Pierce County, our democracy was put to an unusually sharp test during this once-a-decade, way-down-ballot race for the Pierce County Charter Review Commission. The contest to select three of the 21 countywide delegates was anything but routine. In fact, several highly irregular actions seemed intended to shape or more accurately, to manipulate the outcome.
It begs the question:
Did the GOP state and county caucuses or even the candidates themselves truly misunderstand the basic civics of what this commission does? Or were they deliberately trying to mislead the voting public?
At what point do campaign promises stop being exaggerations and slide into misinformation or outright lies? These weren’t your typical pie-in-the-sky “chicken in every pot” pledges. These were claims that simply had no relationship with the Charter Commission’s actual authority.
The Young–Parker spectacle
My faith in the election process was tested and ultimately restored by the results.
Before a single vote was counted, I watched with growing unease as former legislator Jesse Young and his new sidekick, restaurateur Gary Parker, attempted to turn a quiet, administrative civic body into a full-blown political spectacle. Races that historically ran on zero dollars or maybe a few hundred suddenly had bloated war chests.
And for what?
Parker burned through $7,500 on a political consultant and yard signs.
Young reported raising $22,000, then spent lavishly on a fancy fundraiser, rent for his own home office, old campaign sign buybacks, and ultimately shifted a hefty portion into his political surplus account.
Together — crammed shoulder-to-shoulder on the same glossy flyer like some bargain-bin, dollar-store “Democracy Duo” they unleashed a flood of fear-soaked mailers across the district. These masterpieces of political fiction promised everything from eliminating bridge tolls to slashing property taxes, lowering rents, conjuring affordable housing out of thin air, and, heck, maybe even tossing in a free pony for good measure — all powers the Charter Commission has exactly zero authority over.
Their mailers came loaded with the usual cast of emotional props: Charlie Kirk glaring in the corner, Uncle Sam pointing accusingly, distressed seniors clutching their bills, families teetering on the brink of eviction. It was all wrapped up in the standard anti–red tape rage bait, engineered to provoke rather than inform.
And there they were — the dynamic duo themselves — front and center on every glossy page, proudly posing as if the Charter Commission were tag-team wrestling and they were headlining WrestleMania.
Also, as a team, they impaled their yard signs together on a single post like the many-headed Hydra, only with fewer morals and more plastic flapping, snarling, and spewing political venom like the monster Hercules had to battle.
Photo by the author
All this while:
- 50% of 2025 winning Pierce Charter candidates countywide spent nothing.
- Of 66 candidates who filed in May primary, only 18 spent more than $1,000.
The tag team candidates of Young and Parker hauled in over $30,000 — a ridiculous amount for a race this small and obscure, especially when their opponents reported spending zero — Not a dime raised — Not a nickel spent. Absolutely nothing just their reputations.
And then came the results
When the votes were counted, the message from the electorate was unmistakable:
- Lantz: 59.1% vs. Young: 40.7% — an 18.4-point defeat
- Lykins: 58% vs. Parker: 41.8% — a 16.2-point difference.
Our local politics margins are typically razor-thin, these weren’t losses, they were political drubbings. They got smoked. The People not only spoke, the screamed Hell NO. The people didn’t just reject the messaging. They rejected the tactics.
Which leads us to a final, unavoidable question:
Has the voting public finally grown tired of Jesse Young’s extremism, theatrics, and fear-driven campaign playbook?
George Young
Gig Harbor
