Poulsbo City Council members are elected to four-year terms. They receive $700 a month. Only the mayor, who is directly elected, is full time and salaried.
The council’s mission statement, from cityofpoulsbo.com: The council “endeavors to balance residents’ concerns and opinions with the law. The Council establishes the priorities of the City along with setting policies and a budget to allow the Mayor and Department Heads to run day-to-day business effectively and efficiently.”
The North Kitsap Herald believes the following candidates are the most qualified for the council positions they seek, and we encourage residents to vote for them on Nov. 3.
POULSBO CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 1. Two fine candidates are running for this position: Ken Thomas, a retired Navy officer who was appointed to the post earlier this year; and Amanda Cheatham, a customer service rep for Kitsap Public Utility District and executive director of the Miss West Sound Scholarship Organization.
We endorse Ken Thomas. He has good ideas for bolstering economic development, improving public safety and protecting the environment, and he will be able to accomplish those goals because of his understanding of how government works.
The city’s population is diversifying, and he wants to make sure all people have a voice in the city. He would engage residents by working closely with neighborhood associations to promote activities in more areas of the city. He’d like to see the same organized effort on Viking Avenue that downtown has, with events that draw people there. He wants to maintain the city’s natural surroundings; “The surrounding natural beauty, the ridges and woods within the city, the distinct neighborhoods bound by pathways and streets that unify the entire city — these are all things which should be protected and enhanced,” he said. He believes there should be a Municipal Court program similar to the alternative courts on the Superior Court level, enabling people to work off their fines through community service rather than accumulate debt.
We hope to see Cheatham on the ballot again in the future. We recommend her appointment to the Planning Commission so she can get experience that will prepare her for future council service.
POULSBO CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 5. Jeff McGinty is the sole candidate for this position since Gregory Mueller dropped out in early September to tend to personal legal matters. Mueller’s name will still be on the ballot.
We endorse Jeff McGinty.
We don’t believe a candidate deserves reelection simply because he or she is an incumbent. But McGinty brings unparalleled experience and historical perspective to the council. Now running for his seventh term, he’s the longest-serving council member in city history and is the mayor pro tem. He’s served on the council since the implementation of the first comprehensive plan required under the Growth Management Act, which intends to prevent uncoordinated and unplanned growth that could sprawl into open spaces, threaten sensitive areas and circumvent sustainable economic development.
Projects he wants to see through to completion: construction of the new public works yard on Viking Way; expanded use of telemetry, used to remotely monitor and control public utilities; continued detection and correction of stormwater infiltration into the city’s wastewater system; and adoption of the SmartGov system, which would make it possible to file building permits online.
He’s interested in the revitalization of south Viking Avenue, and feels mixed-use development — now allowed in zoning by the city — would make “a nice entry” to Poulsbo. However, he said some property owners, remembering how road and infrastructure improvements in the last decade affected their businesses, are sensitive about local government becoming too involved.
“I’m supportive of what they want to do,” McGinty said of South Viking Avenue property owners. “We’ll be as [involved] as we need to be.”
NEXT WEEK: Endorsements in the campaigns for North Kitsap School Board.
