Editor,

We need to vote for Rick Hannold for Island County commissioner, District 3, this November. Here’s one big reason why: “Progressives” backing liberal Karla Jacks for the District 3 job are after Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Make no mistake about it. Jacks and company want NAS Whidbey gone. This week, a Jacks backer was the star of a hit piece in the Stanwood/Camano News that flayed the hide off the Navy for flying training runs for the Growler squadron.

The hit piece star — a California refugee in Chanel makeup who wouldn’t dream of shopping outside of Whole Foods — said the Growler noise was just awful. Then the article went on to tout the Whidbey Island “Progressives” who want the Navy to stop using Coupeville’s Outlying Field for training landings.

More Jacks supporters, of course.

Look, folks, if the Navy cannot train its pilots because a selfish band who have theirs and don’t give a darn about the rest of us succeeds in stopping it, we can kiss NAS Whidbey goodbye.

What will happen then? Oak Harbor will revert to pioneer village size and Island County government will be able to fit its whole shebang into a phone booth.

For starters, we can forget about police protection. We can forget about fixing our roads or operating our schools.

Do the “Progressives” and their candidate Jacks care? No, folks. They don’t.

As I said, they have “theirs.”

NAS Whidbey provides for over 70 percent of the county’s economy, including over 7,000 military personnel and 2,450 civilian contract personnel, plus an additional 14,000 dependents.

This is 29 percent of the county’s population.

What can we do? For starters, let’s all vote for Rick Hannold for that District No. 3 slot this November.

Hannold is a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, a proven skilled manager and a 28-year member of our community. He knows what he is doing, and he will not allow a tiny band of “superhaves” to destroy NAS Whidbey.

Andy Valrosa

Oak Harbor