It's political poppycock. I do not believe one word of it. And I won't even consider it until each and every fact has been collected and reviewed. In public this time.

To ground that position in fact, I offer the following….In September of 2000, when my husband and I were being vilified in council meetings by Mssrs. Kenton Coy and Ed Boucher, accused of various civil and federal crimes and of stealing the G.R.I.T. name from Coy, I was terrified of what Sultan's "legal" government might do. Especially since Mr. Boucher was strongly urging the City to begin an "official investigation" into our activities and the fact that Coy's and Boucher's actions were facilitated and aided by people at the highest levels of City Hall.

Therefore, the actions taken by Messrs. Coy and Boucher, Mayor Rowe and others in the City of Sultan's government, made me greatly fear the consequences that can result from the misuse of power and authority. And here is the point I wanted to make, though taking too long getting to it, I greatly feared the Sultan police for one reason only: The police reported to Mayor Rowe, and Mayor Rowe had shown me his intentions and what of what he was made. Time and Rowe's actions have confirmed and reinforced that opinion.

But in the time period since September, 2000 until now, my view of the Sultan police has done a complete turn-around, most especially Chief Fred Walser. I think he is a fine man, one who is clearly motivated by the greater good, even at tremendous personal costs to himself. And he, as we and many others, have experienced tremendous harm at the hands of a small but tight-knit and powerful group of people with a very specific financial agenda in mind. I call it the "Money-opoly" and they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

The timing of the breaking of this story couldn't be more beneficial for Mayor Rowe and others in town. The enormous rocket boost it gives to the "Anti-Sultan" Money-opoly side, with the Prop. #1 issue barely a week away, is like manna from heaven. (I am also mindful of the brief, yet virulent dust-up between Sheriff Rick Bart and Chief Walser over the 800 MHz issue last year, when Bart basically called Walser a liar.)

But I guess whether or not you'll give credence to this story comes down to simple common sense: Do you believe a public servant who's given his entire life honorably and unselfishly to public service without stain or a lust for monetary gain? Or do you believe that Rowe may have had a hand in this story, an elected mayor who's been drowning (or at least treading water) in deep controversy and perceived unethical behavior since he took office 39 months ago?

And if that's not a slam-dunk, I don't know what is.

I'd recommend that everyone register their decision on Prop. #1 at the May 20^th election. Now, any "Maybe's" will surely jump away from any possible leanings they may have previously had toward the "Anti-Sultan" side of the change of government issue.

Thank you, Mayor Rowe (and possibly others), for helping to get the ProSultan vote out.

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