Okay voters, it’s getting down to the “brass tacks” of who IS and who IS NOT going to have your best interest and the city’s best interest at heart.

Who is really going to do what they say and follow through with their campaign promises?

I for one find the whole concept of local government elections exhilarating and exasperating.

It is one of the few places in politics where the average citizen can control the outcome, as opposed to state and national elections where districts can be redirected and manipulated and Electoral College over the popular “one man-one vote” concept seems to mean nothing anymore.

One swears this and the other promises that, but when it really comes down to it, actions speak louder than words.

Dave Asher by virtue of riding on the government dole, collecting several government pensions has an obligation to keep feeding the government machine to insure his pension plans stay active and thriving.

Dave Asher has no intension of lowering your taxes or voting “No” to increasing your car tabs. If Dave Asher were to lower taxes, it would be if he asked to lower his own personal income.

As a matter of record, Dave Asher is in favor of increasing almost every form of taxation within the city, including the use and implementation of “red light cameras.”

Red light cameras have been proven to be a money loser to every community that has had them installed.

They have clogged the municipal court system with false positive red light infractions and made intersections that had no previous egregious incidents or accidents become a dangerous magnet for vehicular rear end collisions.

A vote to Jim Hart will send a clear message to Dave Asher that we respect his years of service to our country, but you are not entitled to entitlements due to your years of service at the expense of your constituents.

Jessica Greenway touts Kirkland’s AAA rating like a flag she proudly waves. She too wants to keep feeding the machine of local government and filling the coffers to keep that rating, as the AAA rating is the Holy Grail of accounting.

But keep in mind that a rating in accounting is nothing more than smoke and mirrors of numbers on a page. Remember Enron, Bank of America, GM and most national banks had AAA ratings, yet once the forecasted revenue stopped flowing the ratings fell like stones off a cliff. The key being forecasted revenue.

Ms. Greenway wants and needs future revenue to appease her accountant-based thinking. There is no way Greenway will ever let future revenue roll back to match these tough economic times.

As a matter of fact, she personally spearheaded to increase your garbage collection fees 10 percent just after Waste Management took over your garbage collection and had already increased your collection fees 23 percent.

Toby Nixon has been in budget-based government for a longtime and knows that in order to survive in tough times, tough choices need to be made.

Toby Nixon is not afraid to make those choices. Send Ms. Greenway a message that her Arthur Anderson accounting way of fiscal responsibility is what got this country in the mess we are in now. A vote for Toby Nixon will send her that message loud and clear.

Bob Sternoff has been a citizen of Kirkland for over 30 years; served on many boards, committees and chairs as well as council with an exemplary record of putting Kirkland and its citizens first.

I along with a long list of current and past city officials have a huge vote of confidence in Bob both as a business man and as a keeper of the citizens of Kirkland’s trust.

Unfortunately for Bob Sternoff’s opponent, Jason Gardiner, lack of time and inexperience are on Gardiner’s side.

Mr. Gardiner has no experience in civic matters and has not served on one community board, city panel or committee. Gardiner has been endorsed by the Democratic Caucus and “Concerned Citizens of Kirkland” only by virtue of trying to defeat Bob Sternoff.

That is not a stable platform in which I think one should be elected.

“Let’s unseat Bob, just because.” Children play those sorts of games on the playground when one clique doesn’t like someone and wants to exclude them from the clique. It’s time to grow up children, you are playing with real money, real lives and real tax revenue.

I for one do not want to put my hard earned funds and life altering decisions into the hands of inexperienced Mr. Gardiner’s hands, simply for him to defer his vote and power to the puppeteers of Dave Asher and Jessica Greenway pulling his strings.

Citizens of Kirkland, become informed, read past the hype and smooth talk and look at the facts.

Facts, unlike figures that can move from one side of a ledger to the other will always ring true.

Please remember, to vote! You are the government and your vote is your voice. SPEAK UP!

Paul Deems, Finn Hill

Editor’s Note: Jim Hart dropped out of the race due to family concerns.