A little over a year ago, the Umatilla County Commissioners appointed Bobby Levy to our budget committee. To be honest, I nominated Bobby for the appointment in hopes that she would consider running for office.

I was aware of her financial background and knew she would be an effective member of the group. People who want to run for office need to get involved before they throw their hat in the ring. We don’t appoint members to our budget committee to get a rubber stamp — rather, we want people who will tell us what we need to hear. I knew that Bobby would enlighten us regarding the issues we need to consider as we frame our spending plan.

When Rep. Greg Barreto announced he was retiring from his post, I was admittedly part of the group who encouraged Bobby to file for the position and I continue to be thrilled she has been willing to do so. As I have learned, running for public office is not for the timid.

But more than that, I have marveled at the success of the Eastern Oregon Women’s Coalition, which Bobby has led since its inception. They clearly get the picture that if Eastern Oregon is to ever have a voice of any kind in Salem, we have to work across the aisle. Bobby has demonstrated repeatedly that she understands how the process works.

In my mind, we couldn’t have a better representative in District 58 than someone who has already proven that she knows how to illuminate the issues the are important to Northeastern Oregon.

That’s why I am unequivocally supporting Bobby Levy for state representative.

George Murdock

Umatilla County commissioner

Pendleton

The East Oregonian will not run candidate endorsement letters of more than 400 words.

The East Oregonian will institute a deadline for letters to the editor, so we can be fair with all the letters we receive and allow for responses before Election Day, if necessary.

We run the letters on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please submit your endorsement letters to the editor by noon Wednesday, April 22. You can email them to editor@eastoregonian.com, or mail them to East Oregonian, c/o Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, 97801.

We will publish our last letters on Saturday, April 25. Any letters received after the deadline will not run. Election Day is May 19.