[This letter comes from Snoqualmie resident and SVSD teacher, Janelle McCarty. You can send letters of support for your candidate to info@livingsnoqualmie.com]
Dear Editor,
Without promoting housing affordability our community will suffer. Vote for someone who advocates for an idea worth standing behind.
As a Snoqualmie teacher and parent to three kids I know many, many quality teachers that would help our kids tremendously, but they can’t afford to stay in the valley.
Erik and Mackenzie Nelson have been teaching the kids of our community for the last two years, one at TFMS and one at Timber Ridge. They’ve been making ends meet by living in historic Snoqualmie apartments, becoming valuable leaders for our kids and our community.
Unfortunately, they are moving on because over the last two years they couldn’t find something they could afford to buy. These two teachers were working hard for our kids, but now they are leaving. The fact that our children’s education is compromised should be a more important issue to us than other recent NIMBI (not in my backyard) issues raised during candidate forums.
We will have teacher turnover every year until we can solve this problem. Instead of complaining so much about how the district isn’t planning for the growth let’s point the finger back at ourselves and do our part to plan for the growth. How can we provide for equitable opportunity for good teachers to live here?
Not only teachers struggle, but my neighbors, too. One neighbor grew up here, now she is a real estate consultant with her husband working for a non-profit organization. They are totally at the whims of their landlord whether or not they can keep this stable environment for their daughter. Luckily their landlord isn’t thinking about the huge profit she could make right now to sell.
Another neighbor isn’t so fortunate. They work long hours in construction and dental work to pay the rent, support their two kids and keep the home they’ve rented and improved for 8 years. The landlord is ready to sell and they are struggling to figure out what to do. There are so few opportunities in the Snoqualmie Valley, it is frightening. A healthy community needs stability for our residents. Now more than ever.
Taking care of Snoqualmie first is taking care of the people who live and work here. What will you do to provide the essential need for housing for our community? Before voting, take your time and look carefully at the candidate’s track record and vote for what is good for the community.
Knowing Fuzzy Fletcher’s history of working well with a diverse community, bringing affordable housing to our community and respecting the history of our area makes me very confident in my vote for him.
Janelle McCarty
Teacher at Twin Falls Middle School
Comments
I totally agree. I work in social services. We make less than teachers. I had to sell my house in North Bend at a loss when my husband lost his job in 2008, and my hours were cut by 20%. Now I live in a rental and see no hope of buying another house. I am close to being squeezed out of the rental market. I had been a homeowner since I was 21 and I’m now 58. I don’t want to leave the beautiful valley, or move away from my grown kids, but as rents get higher, I may not have a choice. Shame on the mayors, the city councils and residents who scream “not in my backyard” whenever the topic of building affordable housing comes up.