The arc of Ron Richards' career has bent significantly toward public service, in particular protecting the less-powerful from the actions of those in power.  The letter asks, "Is the relationship [with any group] used to inform and to gain perspective?" In the case of Ron Richards, that's true.  He's not beholden to any ideology or group--witness his support of the Bernie Sanders campaign in the face of disapproval from party regulars, and then his cajoling of embittered Sanders supporters who after the convention just wanted to pack up their marbles and go home.  Johnson, on the other hand, seems quite beholden to a frozen timber point of view, as witnessed by his automatic opposition to the I-732 state carbon tax initiative because of an unsubstantiated concern that it might impact the timber industry. And he clung to this position even after hearing a well-known forest economist, Bruce Lippke, speak passionately in favor of I-732, demonstrating that it will help the timber industry.