So far, we've gotten lots of positive feedback on our coverage of Washington Congressman Dave Reichert (R-Auburn). Several readers have asked us to continue reporting on him and to hold him accountable for actions that seem to be in direct opposition to what his constituents want.

Check out this week's letters to the editor below.

As a constituent of the 8th Congressional district, I just wanted to write and thank you for your continued coverage of Dave Reichert.

I am part of a number of groups trying to hold him accountable as well as replace him in the next election and your reporting is helping us spread the word on his actual record rather than the moderate record that he likes to tout.

Keep up the great work. We need you!

Best
Robin Gitelman
Community Manager

Hello,

I just read your Slog piece on Reichert’s Facebook “Town Hall.” If his office staff have been so harassed that they have called the police, had people arrested, and had people placed in a mental institution, there ought to be a public record of that. I think we all believe he’s lying through his teeth, but I’d like to deal in facts. Would you follow up on those comments and find out what the facts are?

Thank you!

Eric Blumhagen
Loyal reader for over two decades

[Editor's note: Yes, Eric, he was lying, and Heidi Groover followed up on the facts right here.]

As a constituent in Reichert's district, I just wanted to say thank you for your coverage of him. We need to get the word out about his abyssal record and treatment of his constituents! Keep up the great work.

Holly

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to voice my displeasure and frustration with Dave Reichert and his congressional staff’s failure to follow through with promises to constituents who have called his office with concerns regarding current issues such as the ACA replacement, the president’s ties to Russia, the president's budget; the list is long. A statement of the rationale behind Mr. Reichert's positions and votes is something his constituents deserve.

Since Mr. Reichert refuses to hold town hall meetings, one of the ways that his constituents can have their voices heard and to get clarity on his positions, is to call or write the congressman's office. It’s understandable that the volume of calls and emails have increased dramatically over the past few weeks. That’s of the congressman’s own doing. He can update his web site to address these concerns or hold town hall style meetings or he can have his staff follow up with responses back to his constituents. He and his staff have taken none of these avenues for explaining the congressman’s positions.

I can report that his staff is very friendly and courteous over the phone however they do not follow up their assurances with actions.

We deserve better.

Thanks for listening,
Mike Landi

Reichert Watch: Every time Reichert takes a party line vote that hurts his constituents or introduces needless legislation or does anything at all, we'll add it to the list. On March 9, Reichert voted for the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Recently, he voted for the SCRUB act, which creates a regulatory committee to identify and eliminate regulations that don’t directly increase the GDP. The committee’s goals align with White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s plan to “deconstruct the administrative state," but the irony of commissioning a regulatory agency to cut back on regulations is lost on no one, especially not tax payers who are being charged $30 million for the favor. Reichert twice voted against forcing Trump to show congress his tax returns (once in committee and once in a roll call vote), which may illuminate conflicts of interest and business ties with Russia. Reichert was the only Washington Republican who voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. In 2014, he proposed a bill that would ban welfare recipients from using benefits to buy weed, despite the fact that such purchases were already illegal. In 2010, he voted to maintain “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell." That same year, Reichert suffered significant brain trauma when a tree branch fell on his head. The resulting hand-sized blood clot that formed in his brain went untreated for two months. In their 2006 endorsement, The Seattle Times editorial board applauded Reichert for his "conscience-driven independent streak," but, that same year, during a speech before the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, Reichert expressed his readiness to vote along party lines, saying: "when the leadership comes to me and says, 'Dave, we need you to take a vote over here because we want to protect you and keep this majority,' I... I do it." Though he has voted for some land conservation efforts, Reichert describes his pro-environment votes as "chess pieces, strategies" to hold his seat in a swing district. (RICH SMITH)