When I decide who to vote for this year, my number one issue for both local and national races is the economy. I will vote for candidates who I believe will apply common sense to the challenges we face.

Nothing says fiscal prudence and prioritization-of-needs governance, like a former math teacher. For the state House of Representatives, Diane Tebelius gets my vote.

Ross Hunter voted to suspend the will of the people imposed by Initiative 960. His vote removed the two-thirds majority requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes.

Instead of solving fiscal issues during the recession, Hunter was the architect of the current budget. He raised taxes and squeezed families and small businesses by $800 million this year alone.

Tebelius knows that this kind of governance and fiscal management has significantly contributed to our state’s current malaise. Tebelius has demonstrated her leadership abilities as a federal prosecutor and as a U.S. Trustee with management oversight over five western states.

It is time to elect someone who can do the math.

Cynthia M. Cole, Bellevue