Editor,

In reference to Bill McAfee’s April 30 piece on Tim Hazelo, I offer this.

I’ve gone back through Tim’s campaign literature and interviews he’s given, and can’t find anywhere that he’s claimed something he wasn’t.

Bill McAfee’s disheartening letter, from tone and tenor, seems dismissive, if not disrespectful. It’s written as though he is discrediting Tim’s service. No veteran on God’s green earth should ever do that to another veteran! Anyone who disparages any vet for not having been deployed to combat should be ashamed.

All vets stand watch, waiting for the bell to ring and for their number to be called. Some get the call, some don’t. Tim stood watch for 20 years and he should be heralded for that alone. Was he in direct combat? I don’t know for certain, but I can’t find where he ever claimed to be. Was he in a combat specialty? Absolutely, as a P-3 crew member. That he may or may not have been in direct combat should never detract from his service.

As for Tim’s fitness to be our county commissioner, let me say this. I heard an analyst on talk radio say there are two types of football players, those that want to be an NFL football player and those that want to play NFL football. Let that sink in for a moment, because he was talking about the guy that loves the adulation and celebrity status of being in the NFL versus the guy that just wants to play the game.

That got me to thinking about what I look for in someone seeking elected office. It’s not someone seeking fame, celebrity status or a cushy great paying job. I’m looking for someone who sees the world around them crumbling into a shell of what it was and should be; that they have a true sense of altruism, giving back to the community that has given so much to them.

Tim Hazelo is that football player that just wants to play football; he wants to have an impact. As an elected official he just wants to help his community solve its many problems. He’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get dirty.

With so many years of his life devoted to serving. First to the nation as an active duty member of the U.S. Navy, and now as a member of their civilian work force, Tim wants to keep serving. He wants to represent the residents of Island County. As a humble man who just wants to do the hard work of the county’s business, he believes, as do I, that he can do it better than anyone else has recently.

Dennis Hunsinger,

Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Retired)