Personal attacks on Porter unwarranted

As with most folks at this point in an election campaign, I just want it to end. I’m tired of reading and hearing the charges and countercharges, the nasty Letters to the Editor and the bitter, personal attacks some candidates launch against their opponents. Some of these aspiring officeholders need to learn that there really is a difference between one’s “opponent” and an “enemy.”

Such is the case in the race for judge of Clallam County District Court I. Why is incumbent Judge Rick Porter being subjected to so many personal attacks? The man is a 12-year incumbent for a reason: He has integrity, his judgment on the bench is sound and he holds lawbreakers accountable. His “Pay or Appear” program has been a resounding success for nearly a dozen years, a fact even the ACLU acknowledged.

This is a man voters have favored several times at the polls and it’s because he’s one of the nicest, hardest-working people many of us have ever met. That latter statement — hardest-working — isn’t just my opinion. According to the Administrative Office of the Court, Judge Porter does work equivalent to 1.5 judges! And he has returned over $100,000 in unused vacation time to the county’s coffers over the years.

Please join me in tuning out the nonsense and in voting to re-elect Judge Rick Porter to the Clallam County District Court I.

Ann M. Martin

Port Angeles