I attended a meet and greet for Nate Tyler near Joyce, hearing him explain why he wants to represent us in Olympia.
Tyler is a leader of the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay, running to replace Rep. Mike Chapman, who is now a candidate for the state Senate.
Chapman has endorsed Tyler.
Nate told the story of the role he played in winning passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) in 2020, first introduced by Rep. John Lewis in 2017.
Someone from the Pew Foundation called.
Republicans were blocking the GAOA and would he and other Native American leaders fly to the nation’s capital to lobby these lawmakers?
Tyler, another Makah leader and a Nez Perce leader from Eastern Washington flew to Washington, D.C., not once, but twice, and met with more than two dozen Republicans, persuading them to switch their votes.
Approved was $9.5 billion, some of it to rebuild the Hurricane Ridge lodge.
Nate was reaching across the aisle and getting something in return. Olympic National Park is the crown jewel of Legislative District 24 that Nate Tyler will represent, the economic engine that draws 3 million visitors here every year.
Nate Tyler was working to protect Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, the Everglades.
In his crowd were elected leaders fighting to keep Olympic Medical Center open, working to conserve clean air and water, to save lives from the opioid-fentanyl epidemic.
We were applauding. In the Aug. 6 primary, vote Nate Tyler, a proven leader!
Tim Wheeler
Sequim