To the Journal editor:

Who’s “working for Washington?” Seeing campaign ads in the mail and media against Sara Cambensy would make you think she has been directly manipulating “big government” forces against our everyday interests here in the Upper Peninsula. Amazing ability, don’t you think? As a city commissioner and public school employee, even more amazing!

This is why I and many others are so disappointed with the tone and trend of campaign ads about Sara now being spouted from the opposition, raising taxes, against jobs, in league with Washington? This is not the Sara I know and worked with or the way campaigns are conducted here in the U.P.

Sara and I worked together at Marquette Area Public Schools, literally side-by-side in adjacent offices. Getting to know and work with her has been my good fortune. A true hands-on worker, Sara was not in her office much, but out in the district interacting with students, teachers and other administrators.

Sara’s position as director of community ed involves wearing many hats, from ged prep and testing to management of Kaufman Auditorium. Duties go beyond greeting folks in the lobby of Kaufman before and after performances. She was instrumental in overseeing and fundraising for the ambitious upgrades to our community gem, Kaufman.

Sara is not about negative manipulation. She is a strong fighter for “the better way,” looking at process and results to benefit students, citizens and local communities. Merely following old ways because that’s what has always been done, is not an option for Sara.

Attacks on Sara’s stand on Marquette County Road 595 are short-sighted and misleading. Two years ago, The Mining Journal’s (Feb. 11, 2015) summary examined the Marquette City Commission 4-3 vote in support of a lawsuit against the EPA ruling which blocked building this road. Commissioners Cambensy, Reynolds and Baldini cast dissenting votes due to concerns that a non-profit corporation created to fund the suit would allow donor anonymity.

More specifically, Cambensy said she thought more could be done at a regional level to conduct a comprehensive study of the area, including traffic impacts.

Finding solutions is just one reason she’s supported by Our Revolution – Michigan, Michigan Nurses Association, Michigan Education Association, Fraternal Order of Police, UP Regional Labor Federation, Marquette-Alger CLC, United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, Senators Stabenow and Peters, many more!

That’s why I am joining these positive supporters to vote for Sara Cambensy for 109 representative, too.