We just finished another election for a majority of Commissioners, whose campaigns were buried beneath megatons of political manure. Political emotions so recently played out on this editorial page and elsewhere essentially foreclosed most attention from critical county races.
   While doorbelling this year in Poulsbo for Commissioner candidates, I was reminded that nothing has changed since I was seeking opinions for the failed charter. Most people didn’t know who was running for County Commissioner from other districts. Back when I was campaigning on Bainbridge to get the charter started, I went for weeks knocking on doors before finding a voter, who named correctly the South end County Commissioner (at the time, Charlotte Garrido). Her performance was so inept, we could have collected all the necessary signatures in her district.
   The charter put before the voters called for off year elections and election by district. We could have had the opportunity to debate the issues and evaluate the candidates on their merits. Given the short span between the primary and the mailing of the first general election ballot, we are kidding ourselves to believe that two-thirds of the voters, who will vote for them for the first time in the general election, have had the opportunity to evaluate those candidates from out of district. This assures a non-informed vote based solely on party preference or incumbency.
   That the charter didn’t pass doesn’t change the fact that we are saddled with a nineteenth century form of government. Commissioners, with powers spanning from executive, legislative to judicial when it comes to land use, have far more direct impact on our daily lives than the President. Maybe next time we’ll ignore the Luddites and take a baby step into the twenty-first century.

Matt Ryan
Bremerton