U.S. Congressman Jay Inslee does not “represent,” he tells you what he has decided is best for you. Does that sound like someone you want in Washington — not speaking on your behalf?

Our realization that Jay Inslee (who represents the 1st Congressional District, which includes Northshore cities) did not represent us became clear when we attended a town hall meeting in Edmonds. We were very concerned about the proposed Health Care Reform (HCR) bill and decided it was time to be more involved with our local representative. We went to Edmonds, not as activists, but as observers. We had no signs, we did not participate in any shouting, or clapping, we simply observed. Here are the facts about the event that Mr. Inslee organized for his district:

• One of the first things we noticed was that most of the pro-HCR signs were pre-printed (obviously provided to the people waiving them). The con-HCR signs were homemade and each had a unique statement against HCR.

• The second observation was that the room seemed so evenly divided pro and con. We had assumed that with Washington state being so liberal, there would be more people in support of HCR.

• Then there was Mr. Inslee’s presentation; his power-point pictures and graphs had numbers and statistics that could not be substantiated and, at several points in his lecture, he contradicted his own data and, the actual content of the HCR document.

We had actually read the entire HCR. It has changed (several times) since that point, but it was/is an abomination and a very dangerous piece of legislation. Jay Inslee did not know the full extent of the document and, was misleading these people. He was “winging it” — but not very successfully.

We believed that Jay Inslee was there for input from his constituents. Not so. He entered the room with his decision made (after all he knows what’s best for us) and tried to explain it to us in a simple condescending manner, as if we were children (or just ignorant). We couldn’t possibly understand this complicated issue. The only reason he was there, was to sell us on what he had already committed to in Washington, DC.

So, we asked ourselves, at what point in his decision process did he actually do his job to represent us? No matter how many valid, articulate questions he received, he never once waivered from his position to support HCR. He never said, “That’s an excellent/good point, one I should take under consideration.” This was not a town hall meeting; it was a lecture by Jay Inslee.

We left shortly before it ended, because it was an obvious waste of our time. To our surprise, outside the building was a school bus, waiting to pick up the “staged” HCR supporters and take them back to — who knows where? How do we know this? There were already 10 or so people on the bus with their pre-printed signs — waiting to leave. So, the room wasn’t 50-50 after all, Mr. Inslee. Why did you feel the need for the extra support? You must have been concerned; why else call for reinforcements?

After careful consideration of your voting record in Washington, and of what we observed in Edmonds, we are firing you. We are letting you go, just as we would any employee that does not meet the requirements of their job. Our vote will go to another candidate and, we will do a better job “interviewing” our next employee/representative. You are a perfect example of the need for term limits.

The Franklin family

Woodinville