La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

The audacity of 400 maskless people gathering, cheek to jowl and no social distancing!

I was disturbed to learn that 400 Skagit Republicans had the audacity to gather indoors, without masks or social distancing for their annual gala! If these people have no regard for themselves or their families so be it, but to narcissistically take their deadly seed out into the public without any regard is reckless behavior.

There were five Republican political candidates in that crowd, thumbing their noses at the law and at the rest of us living in Skagit County. That is not “acting in the public interest” and it is not providing competent leadership in the era of COVID-19!

The political candidates who attended:

Ron Wesen, running for county commissioner; Peter Browning, running for county commissioner; Bill Bruch, chair of Skagit Republicans, running for representative; Carolyn Eslick, representative; Ron Muzzall, senator.

Commissioner Wesen said “he chose not to wear a mask” and that “everybody has to make choices they’re comfortable with,” ignoring the known facts about the pandemic and how our individual actions affect the public health as a whole. And Wesen wants to be one of our county commissioners?

Peter Browning, also running for county commissioner, is a former director at the county health department. He cowardly removed his mask after a few minutes, “because of the negative vibes he got from Republicans for wearing a mask.” When asked to explain his behavior Browning said, “I have no excuse except bad judgment.” And Browning wants to be one of our county commissioners?

The number of people at that gathering was in clear violation of the governor’s orders. COVID-19 is on everyone’s mind, and many of us have lost friends to COVID-19. I know that I will not vote for one of these reckless Republican’s but will vote a straight Democratic ticket this time around. How on earth can we place our futures, and public safety anywhere near these reckless and selfish Republi-Cons?

Roger Robinson

Anacortes