Bremerton Mayor Lynn Horton has announced her candidacy for re-election. She cited economic development and specifically downtown redevelopment as her top priorities, stressing that neither can be undertaken at the expense of the needs of the city’s neighborhoods.

The mayor noted that she has devoted much of the last year working with a coalition in order to redevelop the downtown area. “The master plan process, development standards and government center are attracting a number of developers with the expertise and financial backing necessary to get the job done,” she said.

Horton pointed to a long list of improvements achieved during her tenure in office, including the Bremerton Gateway, expansion of the Gold Mountain Golf Complex and construction of the new club house, as well as a first time home buyer program, numerous park and storm water projects, elimination of the odor problem at the waste water treatment plant, an aggressive abatement program dealing with blighted properties, and working with Kitsap Transit on passenger only ferry service and the Bremerton Transportation Center. Horton says she is especially proud of the fact that her administration has undertaken approximately $30 million in construction projects, all of which came in on time and within budget.

Horton has also played a key role in the development of the Northwest Corporate Campus and the Port Blakely property west of Kitsap Lake. “When I first came into office there were very few options for business park and light industrial businesses. I worked hard to zone additional property in order to bring jobs to Bremerton. Developers and business owners won’t spend their money or efforts if there isn’t zoned property, available infrastructure and a good quality of life,” the mayor remarked.

“We’ve come a long way in a short time, but still have much to do. I would like to stay another term in order to bring some of these developments to fruition,” the mayor stated.