Curbside campaigning intensifies

With mail-in ballots arriving at Anacortes homes last week, candidates are competing for voter attention by methods ranging from mailbox flyers and newspaper ads to highway billboards and truck-mounted signs. There has also been an increase in “curbside campaigning,” primarily at this community’s high visibility 12th Street/Commercial Avenue intersection. When I drove by the intersection a few days ago I saw signs waving on all four corners, promoting candidates including mayoral hopefuls Ryan Walters and Matt Miller. By the time I cruised by after lunch, however, there was only one candidate remaining on the street: Mary LaFleur. There is a reason LaFleur is motivated to be noticed: she did not announce her candidacy for a Port of Anacortes commission position until after the deadline to appear on the ballot. As a result, voters who choose to support her must write her name on their ballot. LaFleur’s competition for the non-partisan port commission job is public school administrator Jon Ronngren. Election day is Tuesday, November 2.