The election for commissioner Public Hospital District No. 1 (Valley Medical Center) is under way. The strongest candidate, who will protect the public status of the hospital and who will work hard to implement the new alliance with UW Medicine, is Mary Alice Heuschel. You may know her as the current superintendent of Renton schools, where she has received national recognition for her work.

Mary Alice provides experienced executive leadership – which is required on the hospital board – and she is the only candidate with experience managing large taxpayer budgets.

Mary Alice is the only candidate with an extensive list of endorsements, including the Kent and Renton firefighters, the nurses of Valley Medical Center, the mayors of Renton, Kent, Covington and Newcastle, various organizations such as the Boeing Aerospace Machinists, and many doctors, and members of our communities. These well-respected individuals and organizations endorse Mary Alice because they know she is the perfect candidate for the job.

Please vote for Mary Alice Heuschel for hospital commissioner and mail in your ballot before Nov. 8. This election is too important to the health of our communities to not pick the best choice.

Glenn Garrett

Renton