I just returned from the 4th of July parade and must comment on the effrontery of Kirkland Council member Tom Hodgson to set up in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the grandstand with a helium canister to blow up balloons and pepper downtown on a patriotic holiday with hideous orange balloons with his propaganda attached. It would be interesting to know if he had a permit for the helium canister, which is required by city law. Did he not want to pay the entry fee as all of the other candidates did and march in the parade? I’m surprised he didn’t want to hang his banner (which the city does not allow and asked him to remove) on the grandstand itself being that he is an incumbent City Council member. But if anyone has paid attention to his previous antics, we know that the rules that apply to the rest of us do not apply to him. What arrogance he displays.

Bonnie Fletcher, Juanita