Myah Thompson for the EMS Levy

Dear Editor,

If you plan to vote no on the EMS Levy I am going to assume you have actually done your homework and have some strong, compelling data that the rest of us don’t have. And I’m not talking about what you’ve read in the papers. I’m talking about real research that you have done. If that’s the case, please share. Because as I’ve picked through the data I’m not finding ANY numbers that point to irresponsible spending, or overpaid personnel, or any of the other claims brought forth by the Vote No campaign.

What I have found in my always curious digging of “consider the source”, is that the source of the Vote No champagne is driven largely by a couple of disgruntled ex-EMT’s. That alone certainly does not make data inaccurate, but it raises an eyebrow of suspicion. So dig deeper I did. Data is data. It’s simply a set of numbers. But the way the data is presented and processed is often the telling mark. The data presented by the Vote No folks at the League of Women Voters somehow differs significantly from the data that the same group had printed in the paper last week. How does data change? Well, it was twisted using inaccurate mathematical equations to try to paint a dishonest picture of the management of EMS funds. I took the data into San Juan EMS and got some very clear and easy to understand answers.

A recent editorial says we should vote no so we have time to do our homework. Really?? We’ve had a year…it may be confusing but it’s not THAT confusing. The editorial goes on to say, “The careless way projections in tax revenue were created, the errors in basic computations, the faulty comparisons have led to a muddled picture of what amount of tax revenue is really needed.” This is exactly what the Vote No campaign has set out to portray. Budgets and mathematics are confusing at best to most of us. But put them through the political shredder and all of our heads are spinning. Mission accomplished if your hope is that too much information will deter a yes vote. Please don’t let a few outspoken pot stirring nay-sayers influence your vote. Instead, go get the real answers you want and vote accordingly. I have done so and I am voting YES!! I had some doubts, I wanted some answers and I admit I was being swayed. But I am smart enough to know that “political massaging of data” is typical. I wanted clear answers and I got them.

Sincerely,
Myah Thompson
Friday Harbor