To the Editor:

I had been an unaffiliated voter for most of my life.&bsp; About six years ago I was tired of pulling the lever for the lesser of two evils and decided I wanted to do something to get better government and more accountability. As an unaffiliated voter, the only influence I had was voting every two years.

Its been said that All politics is local. So, I decided to get involved locally to have more of an impact.&bsp; &bsp;

I was pleased to find that most of the local Democrats were there for the same reasons. In the past six years I have put in many hours of volunteer work to help get Democrats elected, at all levels. While, at times, I have considered leaving the party myself as I have been disappointed with the national party, I can say that I am proud of the work of the Polk County Democratic Party. We are working to hold our party accountable and enforce high ethical standards.

I dont believe that anyone deserves preferential treatment because they belong to a party or that any official should use their position for personal gain. I do think that many citizens are apathetic towards politics because far too much of this behavior does occur in both parties at the national and state level.

I was very pleased that the Polk County Democrats unanimously passed a strong ethics resolution for our local, elected Democrats. I would challenge our Republican counterparts down the street to do the same. We need to show the citizens of Polk County that we are watching our officials and we will hold our own officials to a higher standard. We must not turn a blind eye when we see wrong just because they are of the same party. &bsp;

Call me cynical but I do not trust politicians to write laws governing ethics. Im sure you know the fox and henhouse analogy.

Both Warren Watsons and Tommy Meltons letters expressing their reasons for becoming unaffiliated sound great with their wonderful ideas of unicorns and rainbows, but I believe it is hiding the real reasons for their switch. I think Warrens sneaky and deceitful actions of switching at the 11th hour show that it is pure political calculation that motivates his action. &bsp;

That said, I have considered Warren a friend for about six years and do feel bad for him. While the letter he wrote is civil and reasonable, I think he got caught up in the moment during the interview and said some things that he will deeply regret. He has leveled some serious accusations at our locally elected Democrats. Those officials and the many volunteers who have donated thousands of hours are deeply offended by his remarks. &bsp;

I believe Warren has hitched his wagon to a horse going down the wrong path.

Wally Hughes