I submitted the following letter to the League of Women Voters of Kitsap County:

I am reaching out to the League of Women Voters of Kitsap County as a write-in candidate for Indianola Port Commission, District 2, in this November’s election.

Amidst the ongoing controversy over the closure of Indianola’s public dock, which has now resulted in the resignation of two of the three standing port commissioners, the following call was put forward by the editorial board of the North Kitsap Herald: “The League of Women Voters should be recruited to host a candidate forum; the League can ensure the forum is civil and productive.” (www.northkitsapherald.com/opinion/219011871.html)

This past weekend, the dock’s preservation received a tremendous boost from local volunteers who came out to scrape barnacles off the pilings, facilitating the main structural improvement recommended by the Indianola Port District’s engineer, Coast & Harbor to add cross bracing to reduce lateral sway. This demonstrates yet again what makes Indianola the vibrant and cohesive community that it is — a community that would be well served by the League of Women Voters sponsoring a candidate forum for the two port commission positions up for grabs. These are the very two districts whose commissioners have resigned in the wake of sustained resistance to their unpopular positions closing down the dock — unpopular for both the undemocratic methods they used, as well as for the lack of scientific evidence produced to back up their assertions in justifying total dock closure.

For the record, it is extremely unfortunate if former commissioner Joan Wald or Judith Frank felt personally threatened, as they both have claimed. At the end of the day, Indianola is a small town and we all see one another at the Post Office and Country Store, at the beach and, hopefully sooner than later, on the dock.

It is my wish that the healing hand of time can close the rift that has opened up between neighbors, while the lessons we are receiving in civic participation and public trust will continue serve the broad community for a long time to come.

The League of Women Voters can help by leading the way to a “civil and productive” forum where differing opinions and ideas are exchanged openly with the full public participation and engagement as we move forward to preserve our beloved public structure.

Matthew Smith
Write-in candidate
Indianola Port Commission, District 2