Letter of the Day: People before parties

People before parties

EDITOR: I wonder what's in the heads of people who throw around the acronyms DINO and RINO — Democrat or Republican in name only. Have they lost sight of the idea that their elected officials are supposed to represent the desires and needs of the area from which they are elected, not the needs of the party to which the official belongs? When you get into the DINO or RINO mode, you give up your right to get representation in legislative bodies.

Do they really want the person elected from their district to ignore the needs and desires of that district and vote for the party's priorities? There will be occasions when there are conflicts between the two. Shouldn't voters expect elected officials to put them ahead of the party?

With the upcoming election just a month away, let's insist that candidates address those issues that affect us, the voters, and not stick to the party line.

Maybe then, legislators will start working for we, the people.

TOM BRUNNER

Petaluma