I am glad to see election coverage return to the Leader but I’ve found it puzzling at times. The article headed “Jefferson County sees unusually low election turnout” (November 13) failed to report that Jefferson County turnout was the highest in Washington. Let’s be proud of our consistently high voter turnout! Campaign finance is another worthy topic for journalists. The “Big spending, small spending” article (October 23) called the county commissioner’s contest this year’s “biggest gap in spending” because one candidate spent about $15,000 and the other spent $139 (this candidate has since reported spending $1865). This might be a big gap proportionally but the lack of context could create a false impression. Serious local candidates need at least $15,000 if their campaigns are going to reach voters with a website, ads, signs, and a mailer. In 2022, one commissioner candidate spent $53,000. In 2020, two competing candidates spent $83,000. The real story here is that this contest was cheaper by far than any commissioner contest in ten years.

I do thank the Leader for the reports, but dubious story hooks concern me. Good news may not be “hooky,” but we sure could use some!

Bruce Cowan

Port Townsend