Dear Friends,

So much to do…so little time and the holidays are fast approaching. Like you, I’m trying to be responsible with that which I have and not envy those who have more. I’m trying to apply common sense to that which we legislate…and then comes along a notion of putting an airport smack dab in the middle of families, farms, fish and floods. To say the least, I’m a bit disturbed in that I was never officially contacted by anyone regarding this airport in our district. I received an email from an astute constituent.
 
There are just so many things wrong about that idea. I can only surmise that the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC), born out of state legislation in 2019, and charged with recommending potential sites for a much-needed airport, was given incomplete data about the Pierce County sites. It is my intent that we will be able to inform the state legislature and the Commission that there are factors beyond the scope of the project that were not considered; therefore, making Pierce County ineligible for any kind of national airport.
 
I am in the process of researching what happened and what is being planned. In the August 2021 recording of their meeting, I learned that sample surveys, in both English and Spanish, went out to 33,000 random addresses in King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, and Thurston Counties.  That’s just over 4,000 surveys per county. It had an approximate 8% return rate. The goal of the survey and open houses was to inform the citizenry of 1) the meaning of capacity, 2) the risk of not meeting the demand and 3) the environmental impact.
 
How can you help? I was told that this isn’t the first attempt to locate an airport in the central Pierce County area. Please share your stories if you participated in defending your property at that time. If you have expertise in locating airport locations, or if you see flaws in the process, please share your knowledge with me. If you received a survey, please let me know and share what you remember about it. The Council, along with the Executive’s Office, will be informing the Commission of its opposition to the proposed sites.
 
This marks the beginning of our journey. We must remain courageous and persevere to overcome this intrusive concept. Your support to stand strong means everything!

Grateful for you!