If the essence of civics is the ability to respect all opinions and defend the right of someone with a different opinion even when unpopular, then we need to see individuals elected to positions of civic responsibility who in fact embody this.

Because one such individual is currently a candidate for office, I’d like to bring him to the attention of the voters of Kirkland. His name is Richard B. Sanders and he is currently a candidate running for re-election. Now 98 percent of incumbents are re-elected year after year, so why get all in a lather about this you may ask? The reason is that the living breath of our civil society is at danger in the current political climate of polarized extremism. Many candidates run for office but don’t really own their own candidacy. They have insider political pros who feed them polling information and tell them what to say and just exactly how to hold their mouth and smirk when they say it. You could almost say the candidates are the people behind the scenes who pull the strings as much as the face on the poster.

But not so with Judge Sanders. He has consistently protected the individual rights of Washingtonians regardless of their own personal beliefs. Where you may find political theater ginned up by candidates based on opposition research you get no such skulduggery with Judge Sanders. He is sincerely who he is. Please carefully consider your vote in August.

Miles F, Holden, Kirkland