I was a teacher for many years in Spokane School District 81. One of the important things I helped students learn was how to work together to solve problems.

A critical part is for each student to recognize the importance of listening to ideas from everyone else and especially to those with a different perspective. Once the diverse ideas were expressed, the group could form a plan to solve the problem that would be better than if only one set of ideas had been expressed.

So let’s apply that to our Spokane County government. We have only three commissioners managing a $157 million budget. It seems to me that the three current commissioners hold pretty similar views. Wouldn’t our community be better served if we had some more diverse ideas represented? I think so, and that is why I’ve decided to support Mary Lou Johnson for county commissioner. She is a community member who will represent my values to make this a stronger community.

Susan Burns

Spokane