McClain's a Dedicated Public Servant Who Fights for His Victims

I was disappointed to learn that someone from Ellensburg decided to cast Mark McClain in a negative light.

I worked with Mark while I was a Detective with the Ellensburg Police Department and when he was a Deputy Prosecutor for Kittitas County. I observed Mark to be a dedicated public servant who fought for the victims in his cases, especially in child sexual assault cases.

We wanted Mark to take our cases not just because he was a talented prosecutor, but also because he worked with us and the victims to seek a just result.

I also worked with Mark as a police officer. Mark agreed to help a local Police Department when their small force was depleted by injury and vacancy.  Mark did so without pay and I observed him to be the kind of "throw-back" officer who took a community approach rather than the acting like the kind of cop who made sure you knew he was a cop (I'm sure we all have encountered these two types of police officers.).

I also understand that some have taken issue with Mark running as an Independent.  I can assure you he is most certainly independent and, as he has been described by the paper, is a political moderate.

In fact, while working as a commissioner, he even approved domestic partnership medical benefits for county employees, something he did long before same sex marriage was approved.

My experience with Mark is that he is a thoughtful person, hearing both sides of an issue before making a decision and never being afraid to reconsider his personal views to make sure he does the right thing for the right reasons.  I was sorry to see him go and can tell you that our community lost an asset.  Mark's work with Rotary, officiating sports, and assisting with domestic violence issues is missed.

SHAYNE POOLE

Ellensburg