Park district and Prop. 1

This fall there are two issues on the ballot for voters residing in the Si View Metropolitan Park District. The first is the election of a Commissioner, where Mark Leen is running against Tim Noonan. The second is Proposition 1, a bond measure to fund replacement of our community’s only public pool.

I was honored to author Statement For in the voter’s pamphlet as a community member working on a committee campaigning in support of Proposition 1. I was surprised that the person writing the Statement Against is actually one of the candidates running for the Board of Commissioners, Tim Noonan. I find it dumbfounding that someone aspiring to serve on the parks commission would be so motivated to subvert the hard work of the Commission and community.

In crafting statements for the voter’s pamphlet, Tim Noonan has demonstrated unequivocally that he is unfit to serve on the Si View Metropolitan Park District Board of Commissioners:

■ His original statement against was rejected by the county elections office. In his original statement against, Noonan misquoted and mischaracterized a discussion on the pool issue he had with a Si View Parks Commissioner. After being contacted, the elections department took the extraordinary step of rejecting Noonan’s statement, requiring both sides to resubmit.

■ In his statement against Prop. 1, Noonan selectively quotes text from the ballot measure in an attempt to scare and mislead voters. The ballot measure is clearly limited in amount and term. The language used in the measure is governed by the Revised Code of Washington. It is not a backdoor effort to create an unlimited tax. The Board of Commissioners has served our community nobly, and deserves our gratitude and trust – their reputations should not be unjustly tarnished in this disgraceful and indefensible manner.

■ Then there is the totally fabricated lie. In his rebuttal statement, Noonan grossly mischaracterizes the extent of the 2020 levy lid lift, stating it costs an owner of a $500K home $268 a year. In fact, the voter approved levy lid lift passed in 2020 it was $0.06 per $1K of assessed value. In 2023 it has gone down to only $0.04 per $1K, or $20 per year on a $500K home. Not the $268 figure fabricated by Noonan and printed in the Voter’s Guide. The County is prohibited from fact checking committee statements. The voter’s pamphlet that will arrive in your mailbox contains a multitude of misinformation thanks to Mr. Noonan.

Reasonable people can civilly disagree on the merits of Proposition 1 – that is not the purpose of this letter. Opinions on the merits of Proposition 1 should be formed by facts. Through his authoring of intentionally misleading and demonstrably false statements against the measure written by the very Board he seeks to join, Tim Noonan has demonstrated himself unfit for office. I urge you to vote for Mark Leen for Si View Parks District Commissioner Position No. 1.

Pete Morisseau

North Bend