As the election approaches, I remind myself of why I am voting to re-elect Mayor Larson for the city of Snoqualmie. Not only do I admire the work Larson has done, more importantly, he showed me a government official’s integrity and courage.

In 2006, Consul General Zhu and his staff from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco flew to our region to pressure Mayor Larson on his Proclamation of Falun Dafa Day.

Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, is a traditional Chinese mind and body practice that people do for health. It is practiced in over 70 countries by 100 million people. Only in China is it persecuted by the Communist regime.

When Larson was faced with the pressure of Zhu and his staff, he showed them the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, religion, and the right to assemble. Mayor Larson gave them a life-learning experience on what America’s democracy means. I was invited to this meeting and witnessed how strong Mayor Larson is on defending these democratic principles. This story was reported in the Valley Record, June 6, 2007*.

Ever since I was young, I admired those who stand tall when facing pressure, and stand behind what’s right. I am proud to be an American and proud of Mayor Larson!

Allison Law

Snoqualmie

* The story, “Snoqualmie’s international incident” is not available on the Valley Record website, but can be found in our archive, in our Snoqualmie office, or on microfilm at the Bellevue Library.