Recently, I received hate mail from a local group, "Citizens for Honesty in Government." These dirty politics harm Burien's image and its people.

The bashing of City Council candidate Stephen Lamphear has once again tarnished our city and its image. Contrary to belief, this mailer did not help Lamphear's opponent, Gordon Shaw. How could Shaw or any candidate feel good about their credentials and hard work if they gained votes through the smearing of an opponent?

If he has integrity, the person who wins Position 4 will take pride in being there because he honestly won the election. I speak for many in Burien when I say we do not need others flaunting their personal agendas in our mailboxes. We are capable of gathering the facts and being informed voters. What qualifies Ron Seale to "educate" us?

The creation of this flyer was obviously a way of manipulating or swaying our votes. Because of this bizarre piece of work, I personally know of many people who are placing their votes for "the victim" of this bashing (as my neighbors call him).

Sometimes the most well-calculated, devious plan has the opposite effect. People are not stupid. I encourage people in Burien to make up their own minds. These attacks are vicious and they chip away at our community spirit. Please do not let others do this to our beautiful city.

It wasn't so long ago in a previous election that Jennifer James paraded up and down Southwest 152 Street, instructing people to "only vote for the women"-an obvious bashing of three male Burien City Council candidates. It is often the self-righteous people on the pedestals who need to stop criticizing others and take a long look in the mirror, at themselves.

The negative impact and outcome from these destructive antics is that dedicated, qualified people who love Burien and who want to serve on the City Council say they will never do it. Not as long as there are characters like Ron Seale slinging mud at candidates. I compare this to an assault upon our community.

I do not believe Ron Seale's actions are typical of Burien citizens. Burien has been my home for 35-plus years and I have invested time and energy in our schools and neighborhoods. I am appalled that anyone in my community would stoop so low.

I do not like opening my mailbox and finding hate mail. The creation of this is frightening. I cannot imagine what deep-rooted prejudices could possibly motivate someone to do this.

Let's adopt a zero tolerance for this, because not only is it ugly, but our community deserves better. I urge people to start by doing what I did: toss this filth in the garbage. This mailer obviously says much more about Ron Seale and his "organization" than it could ever say about Stephen Lamphear.

Joy Henley

Burien