Before the primary election, I received campaign literature from Federal Way City Councilman Roger Freeman, who is running for state representative position 2 against incumbent Katrina Asay.

The direct mail piece touts him as “your advocate in Olympia.” After going to his website to obtain more information about his candidacy, I learned he is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Washington Education Association (WEA), and the Washington State Federation of State employees (AFSCME-WFSE 28) among others.

These organizations represent labor unions, teachers unions, and state workers unions and certainly don’t represent my values or interests in the state Legislature.

If a candidate is beholden to special interest groups such as the WEA or SEIU, how can the claim be made that he will be my advocate in Olympia? Also, he states in his direct mail piece that the last thing we need to do is raise taxes in tough economic times. If he truly believes this, then he should be in favor of Initiative 1185. Initiatives such as 1185 have been passed by the voters four times since 1993 and these initiatives require a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature in order to raise taxes.

Unfortunately, the most recent one (I-960) was suspended by the Legislature in 2010. Where does he stand on I-1185? I’m not sure because nowhere could I find any information about where he stands on this initiative let alone the other initiatives and referendums that will be appearing on the ballot. It seems as if he is refusing to tell citizens his stance on these issues despite repeated requests.

Lastly, the Citizen Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR) gives him a “Fair” rating whereas his opponent, Katrina Asay, receives a “Good” rating. This would seem to suggest that Asay is more of an advocate for the rights of the private property owner than Freeman.

Upon further review it looks as if Roger Freeman won’t be my advocate in Olympia, but will be just a shill for big labor, big education, and big government. My true advocate in Olympia is Katrina Asay and I urge all voters to re-elect Asay to the state house for position 2.

Dan Miller, Federal Way