Jaime Herrera Beutler frequently emails constituents to “survey” our opinions. In doing so, she uses obviously loaded and imprecise terminology which does not enhance genuine policy making — terms that only serve to further divide our nation’s voters. Most recently she asked us if we are for or against “defunding” the police. Many voters, including this voter, favor reorganizing and augmenting budgets for law enforcement to better manage domestic disputes, emotional breakdowns, and drug addiction — situations that require expertise not necessarily held by all officers. Does this mean I favor defunding police? I think not. JHB needs to back much needed police reform instead of playing politics with “surveys” that only fan the flames along partisan lines.
Ellen Sward,
Vancouver
