Letters

(Open letter from Susan Fagan

written last week prior to her resignation from office)

Proud to serve

It is with a sad heart that I am informing the governor by letter tomorrow that I am resigning, effective at the close of business Friday.

This is not a decision I made lightly. It concludes a process that began about six months ago, when issues were raised regarding mileage reimbursements from the state. After careful review of my records, many of these concerns have been resolved. At the same time, I agreed that some were problematic, and thus I quickly reimbursed the state from my personal funds to address these expenses.

The problems stemming from my careless record keeping begin and end with me. I should have been more precise with my records, and I did not give my reimbursement reports the respect and attention they deserve. That is my fault. At no point did I try to derive personal gain from expense reimbursements.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the 9th District in the legislature. “An honor and a privilege” is heard so often from public officials that it’s kind of cliché, but I truly have been humbled by this opportunity to serve the public. The issues legislators grapple with are difficult, but I went about my work knowing I had strong support from the voters back home.

With so many capable citizens and public servants in the 9th District, I’m confident that a strong, local leader will be found to take on this important role.

It is disappointing and painful to end my public career this way. I had already decided, prior to the 2014 election, that this would be my last term, and that was a factor in my decision to not pursue this issue further. I know that my resignation is the better decision for the people of the 9th District, whom I have been so proud to serve.

Susan Fagan,

Pullman

Love, wealth, proverty

Currently our US Supreme Court is considering same-sex marriage while its Citizens United decision contributes to our huge inequality of wealth by influencing elections.

Since both issues have religious implications, we should remember from the Bible that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality but said tons about love, wealth and poverty.

Norm Luther,

Spokane