Successful adoption and approval of the county’s comprehensive growth management plan topped the list of reasons Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido cited as why she should be reelected this Fall.

Garrido’s goals for a second term include expanding efforts to boost economic development, and plans to improve citizen access and involvement in county government. Additionally, she wants to expand the role of community councils — such as those recently established in Manchester and Silverdale to help maintain the unique characteristics of individual areas in the county.

Garrido said her priorities for reelection include an effective response to the Endangered Species Act and increasing the viability of local transportation systems — including enhancing ferry service to Kitsap County — while providing for the safety of our communities.

She also pointed to the establishment a one-stop employment center in Bremerton — a cooperative effort through the Olympic Consortium on Workforce Development; working with the juvenile court system to implement a restorative justice program that holds juvenile offenders accountable; acquiring and managing Open Space and Parks Land on the Indianola waterfront, at Point No-Point in North Kitsap, and Anderson Point in South Kitsap; and leading “Kitsap Connections” — unifying marine transportation issues and fighting to maintain ferry service; as well as enhancing the use of technology to offer citizens greater access to local government through the county’s web site and televised commissioner meetings; budgeting based on a strategic planning model that links programs and departments together to avoid duplication of services and to identify cost-savings, all as accomplishments in her first term.

“I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish during my first term,” Garrido said. “There is a great deal of challenge and opportunity that lies ahead for Kitsap County. I look forward to continuing to work with the community to meet those challenges and to seize the opportunities.”

Garrido may be reached at (360) 871-0537 or cgarrido@harbornet.com.