My name is Yareli K. Ventura, and I am a student at Coal Ridge High School. I decided to write this letter because of the upcoming election. I am very interested in the future of our county. My family and I support Tom Jankovsky, whom is running to be re-elected as county commissioner.

I wanted to share my point and perspective on why Tom should be re-elected as county commissioner.

I am the only female percussionist in our high school band, and I want to use this as an example. When I joined the Coal Ridge band and became a drummer I was excited to show everyone what I knew. I had many things to show. Before I knew it I was receiving compliments from everyone. But, what I noticed was that every time I got complimented on my new role it wasn’t about my playing skills, it was because I was the only female who took the risk to become a drummer. I felt as though I was being complimented on my gender but not my skills or my knowledge. I didn’t want to be recognized as “the only female drummer,” I wanted to be recognized as “the best drummer.”

When I think about this upcoming election I want people to know that there is much more than just appearances and gender. We should look at the experiences, the knowledge, the leadership, the backgrounds and the ideas that these people are bringing to the table.

We should be thinking about the future of Garfield county. I love the area I live in and want to inform myself as much as possible and you should, too.

Yareli Karina Ventura

New Castle