Support Bernie or Hillary

To the editor:

My wife and I have lived in Fairfield almost 25 years, and I was a sometimes conservative Republican almost 25 years before that in Kansas and California.

The changes I have seen in the Republican Party during that time have been beyond belief! From Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and General Douglas MacArthur to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush ... from Eisenhower, a Republican "moderate," building a great government-funded federal highway system to right-wing radicals, wanting to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency and the safeguards to our country's water and air (just look at Flint, Michigan, and the Republican governor and his "emergency manager").

Then look at the Republican scheme to turn our Social Security over to Wall Street to risk all of our life savings! These Republican frontrunner pet projects are pure disasters in waiting, in my opinion.

I have been in the water treatment industry for over 25 years, and what has happened in Flint, Michigan, and what may be following in a small town in Ohio could perhaps take place in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, key agricultural/pesticide states.

In my view, these states have many serious problems, potentially nearly as serious Flint (note the city of Des Moines actually suing several counties in its proximity because of nitrate concerns). These problems should not be swept under the rug.

Any concerned families may call the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at 515-725-8200 for information on chlorine, nitrates and the like.

In the meantime, this former Republican is supporting Bernie or Hillary this time around. Let's keep our Social Security, our air and water safe, and under supervision of our federal, state and local government elected representatives, and not Wall Street or private "emergency managers" not answerable to the people.

? Philip and Jean Kern, Fairfield