To the editor:

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of our many supporters for their hard work and dedication to my campaign for Superior Court judge.

The best part about running for office was meeting all of the wonderful, intelligent and genuinely nice people in our community who care about democracy.

We started out at the Fourth of July Parade in Oak Harbor, and wound up at the Island County Fair, with stops at Choochokam, Oak Harbor National Night Out and the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival along the way. It was a perfect opportunity to bring our message of positive change to the community first hand and to remind ourselves how very lucky we are to live and work among such wonderful citizens.

I was personally gratified and humbled by the large number of very intelligent and well informed citizens who had very positive things to say about our campaign. In particular, our refusal to “go negative” and insistence on taking the high road was very well received. Above all, I can say that we can hold our heads high and be proud of what we were able to accomplish.

In fact, if I had not decided to run, the community would have been deprived of an excellent exchange of ideas about our justice system in the public forum. This focus on the importance of the judiciary and the need to continue to make improvements and to draw the public into the process is emblematic of our whole approach: reach out and involve the public in a part of the government that too often goes unnoticed and get people talking about the importance of a transparent, accessible and user-friendly court house. As I said early on, even if we lose, if the court adopts even some of my ideas for improvements we will have succeeded in part.

As for myself, I am looking forward to digging back into the work that I have always loved — helping people solve their problems by being the best lawyer I can be. I know my clients agree. Although I will not be available to the citizens of this county as their Superior Court judge, I am looking forward to continuing to serve the legal needs of our community.

A word about signs: As promised, and consistent with our approach in this campaign, Mimi and I were up early Wednesday morning removing all the signs we had personally placed. If you have signs on your property or placed signs, we would very much appreciate it if you could assist us in our efforts to have them removed as quickly as possible. The beauty of our islands demands this special effort on all of our parts.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge my family, office staff, friends and colleagues who contributed so much to our campaign. Without you life would just not be the same. Thanks for an extremely interesting and meaningful experience.

Take care.

Craig Platt

Coupeville

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