It never ceases to amaze me when we approach the election season that the current elected officials always try to take us on a journey into Fantasy Land with their version of how much they have done or will do for their constituents. Judy Stiegler, District 54 representative from Bend, did just that in her self-aggrandizing portrait of her accomplishments in her Aug. 12 guest column, “What Rep. Stiegler has accomplished for Central Oregon.”

The reality is her votes to raise taxes 40-plus times in the Legislature have proven she is just a rubber stamp for the “tax them again” mentality in Salem.

Her votes hurt businesses statewide and, in Central Oregon where unemployment is over 15 percent, she is just a burden, not a representative. Her business-friendly/create-jobs rhetoric doesn’t have credibility.

Stiegler voted for increased gas taxes, vehicle registration fee increases, taxes on medical plans and additional taxes on business owners. I don’t believe any of her actions have helped create jobs at all except in the government sector.

Stiegler doesn’t seem to have a grip on the realities of her district. My family and I will be voting for someone who has real life experience in business, Jason Conger, for House District 54, Bend.

John Philo

Bend