To the editor:

I enthusiastically support Sarah Blossom for city council.

I got to know Sarah when I was chairwoman of the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force and she was one of our city council liaisons. She brought the same independent thinking and hard work to that role as she does to all of her council duties. She came to our meetings prepared and ready to work. She offered honest analysis and a passion for problem solving.

She is committed to the difficult work of finding realistic strategies that will protect the natural environment while increasing housing options for people of all races, cultures, ages and incomes. She has abundant patience and extensive council experience which serve her well in the island’s sometimes contentious debates.

In contrast, her opponent, Michael Pollack, has a track record of lackluster performance as an elected official. As a current member of the parks board, his embarrassing 50 percent attendance record merited an article in the Bainbridge Review. Worse, he has been making careless and untrue statements about housing and the environment, both on his website and at the recent candidate forum.

All of the candidates pay lip service to the need for affordable housing. But some of them oppose concrete strategies proposed by others while offering few substantive ideas of their own. Sarah is doing the hard work of creating meaningful housing opportunity in our community.

We are fortunate to have Sarah Blossom in city leadership. I urge you to vote for her.

ALTHEA PAULSON

Bainbridge Island