I have lived in Kirkland since 1983 and try to keep up with local, national and international issues. My late husband, Emmett Murray, was a journalist and editor for the Seattle Times for 32 years. I have followed journalistic issues and questions closely.

While I have been concerned by your seeming bias in the ongoing city council campaign reporting, I was astounded to see your online “poll”: “Does the City of Kirkland need a new council member with a fresh perspective (such as Amy Walen) to fill position No. 5, as opposed to a candidate who has already worked closely with the city (such as candidates Karen Tennyson and Matt Gregory, current and former Planning Commission members)?”

By this phrasing, you have created a “push poll,” which is only used by unethical campaigns and certainly is not a poll. It is an effort to “push” your favorite candidate and demean, downgrade or even smear an opponent. One wonders if Amy Walen’s (or Ford’s) advertising expenditure with you is the key to this unprofessional event.

It may not be necessary to have a journalism degree to write or edit for a newspaper, but it certainly helps to have a clear sense of journalistic ethics. It is obvious that such a sense was totally absent in this case. I also noticed that the “poll” came down when the results of your question was 82 percent “no.” Perhaps the unfavorable results for “Amy Walen’s side” may have occasioned the disappearance of your blatant bias.

Please try to do better in the future. Kirkland is a fair community and dislikes a community newspaper that would stoop to such tactics.

Nancy Rising, Kirkland