Party loyalty can only go so far

The other day a strong wind ripped through my Warm Beach neighborhood knocking down all of the political signs. I grabbed my hammer and went out to put my “Ellen Hiatt Watson” sign back up. I noticed my staunchly Republican mother-in-law’s “John Koster” sign was laying in the ditch. She lives directly across the street from me.

I asked her if she wanted me to hammer her sign back into the ground for her as well. She stopped and looked at me and said; “No, just leave it there in the ditch. I know John and he does not deserve to be re-elected! When a politician stops listening to the people they are elected to represent and do whatever they feel is right, it is time to replace them with someone who does listen to the voters!”

My mother-in-law knows a lot about politics! She knows it’s all local and it is all about representing the people in your district and their wants and desires, and not about representing only your ideas or any land developer’s plans! Nana told me she could not vote for John this year. While she stopped short of telling me she would vote for Ellen, she left the door open for that possibility! When a party loyalist like my mother-in-law pulls her support from a Republican candidate, you know something is wrong! And she knows Ellen will represent her wishes for better community control over development.

Dennis Skaugrud
Warm Beach