The Cathy I know

My time-tested opinion of Cathy McMorris Rodgers is in lockstep with Robert Rosencrantz’s (McMorris Rodgers is a treasure,” Sept. 9, 2018).

I taught high school civics and contemporary world issues for 35 years. Of that time I was fortunate enough to get to know CMR on a personal level. From the time she worked for Sen. Bob Morton and subsequently served in the state House of Representatives for 10 years, she came to my class each year almost without exception. We got a personal lesson of the process of governing. When she went on to the U.S. Congress she still was totally accessible and came to my classes.

After my retirement from teaching I worked as a staffer for Cathy for 8 1/2 years out of the Colville office. On a consistent basis I saw what Robert Rosencrantz described in his letter. Cathy is committed to a very large district. I know because I drove with her to every corner of the 5th District. No one was left out if she could possibly touch bases with them. After full days of meetings with groups and issue-based constituents we stopped at the homes of people who were homebound and could not come to the public gatherings.

In the last 24 years I have only known the “Cathy” that I know today. She is sincere and passionate about the issues of her constituents in the 5th District. There are two sides to the negative political ads you see on TV from her opponent. She has tremendous respect from her colleagues in Washington, DC, as well as the state and district she lives in.

I see her and know her on a personal level. The values she has continued to believe in are the ones we all wish our country could get back to.

Sheila Stalp

Colville