Another vote for Garrido

Politics have never been a big issue for me, not until I met Charlotte Garrido. She was introduced to us at a staff meeting as one our new colleagues. She intrigued our entire staff. I didnʼt know what to think or how to act around someone who had served as our commissioner.

This is what I can tell you: I have spent my career in a supportive position to educators, directors, and executives. I have never seen anyone work as hard as Charlotte, and I am honored to have worked with her. She is approachable and easy to talk to. She understands what we need as a community to succeed in these difficult economic times. She is not afraid to ask hard questions and make thoughtful decisions. I am proud to support her.

I have watched Charlotte get things done as a co-worker, now I ask you to let her get things done for our county once again. I encourage you to attend one of the candidate forums, and you will understand what I mean.

Rhiannon Fernandez

Port Orchard

And one more for Garrido

I’m lucky to live in Kitsap County. My connections and relationships with the community continually grow. I work, live, play, raise my family, and shop here. I value Kitsap. I want to see our local economy prosper. By supporting local businesses we can succeed in making this happen.

Local businesses stay in our community. They do not bail out for cheaper opportunities in foreign countries, leaving behind catastrophic economic losses. For every dollar spent locally 45 percent of that dollar is circulated back in our economy. This means more income, more wealth and more jobs in our community. Local businesses fit with our need to grow smartly and they make our downtown areas attractive to tourists and fun to visit. And by not buying products made thousands of miles away, we are reducing our carbon footprints.

Overall, if you buy local, you are creating more resources to solve Kitsap County’s social and environmental problems.

If you value Kitsap, then vote for Charlotte Garrido, because she understand and values Kitsap, too!

Tommy Fernandez

Port Orchard

She’s for Garrido, too

I have seen many comments on the blogs and letters to the editor during the campaign, trying to scare people away from voting for Charlotte Garrido.

I’m a life-long Republican. I have known Charlotte for nearly 15 years.

Every Saturday you’ll find her at a Farmers Market, taking the pulse of the community, listening to the concerns of the people there. Answering questions that she can, getting back to people with answers later after some research.

I’ve worked with Charlotte in the course of my own volunteer activities and I’ve found her to be an advocate of the priorities of the regular folks — you know, the ones that have been ignored over the past eight years.

She has worked tirelessly for this county’s farmers, neighborhoods, local businesses, workers and taxpayers — both as an elected official and volunteer. She has never played dirty politics, never betrayed her own sense of honor in seeking office. She has never put politics above the good of the people.

In all the years I’ve known her, “balance and calm,” have been have been evident in how she conducts herself. Even under the most despicable political attacks, she prefers to answer with truth and common sense.

Her fiscal responsibility in the county budget has since been unmatched — we all know how spending has ballooned under the recent commissioners.

Charlotte believes in fairness above all, something that has been sorely lacking for the past two go-rounds with the now-exiting Republican.

Her vision of growth, balanced with the protection of the natural beauty we all love here, has raised the ire of Tim Matthes supporters and the groups he advocates. These groups, regardless of their press releases, are working hard to continue the unchecked development they’ve gotten from Jan Angel.

Before you vote for yet another Realtor that wants to continue the out of control development that the spec builders, developers, timber companies and real estate brokers demand — if you want the power to back in the hands of the people, consider voting for Charlotte Garrido.

Pam Moyer

Bremerton

Is there voter fraud in Kitsap County?

The Kitsap County auditor is the chief elections officer for the county overseeing all elections. I believe that the person responsible for processing and counting your vote should take voter fraud more seriously, and insure that your legal right to vote is protected. Every illegal vote cast negates a legitimate vote, thereby undermining public confidence in our elections process.

As it is now under the National Voter Motor Registration Act, anyone applying for a driver’s license receives a voter registration form. That individual is not required to prove citizenship, but simply claims to be a citizen by checking a box on the form. The form is processed and he or she is then a registered voter in Kitsap County. No doubt there are penalties if a person is not a citizen and gets caught. Not one case has been investigated and turned over to the Prosecutor’s Office in Kitsap County. Does that mean there is no illegal voter registration? Or does that mean that county officials have been complacent in protecting your legal right to vote? You be the judge.

Our voter registration and voting procedures have been changed a great deal in the past decade. We now have on-line registration that requires only a driver’s license to become a registered voter. Your driver’s license is not proof of citizenship. All our ballots are mailed in, and do not require any form of ID to be cast. If your child was registered to vote in Washington, then moved away to college in another state, he or she can register to vote there, yet you will still receive the child’s ballot in your mailbox. What prevents someone from casting that ballot here in Kitsap County, and your child voting in another state? Essentially nothing. The signature of record is not enough protection against this potential fraud. States are not cross-checking voter registrations to verify that there are not duplicates for the same voter.

Convenience of online registration and all-mail ballots has been made possible by technology. It is possible that at some point in the future you will be able to cast your ballot on your computer or by using your phone. Many of such changes will be made by federal law, but they will be implemented and monitored at the local level. You need an advocate to protect the integrity of your legitimate right to vote. I pledge that as your Kitsap County auditor I will encourage all citizens over 18 years of age to vote, and protect your vote. This is not a partisan issue — it is the core of our democracy. Your vote matters if you are a Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian or Independent. I will do everything I can to restore your confidence that your vote does matter.

John Clark

Candidate for Kitsap County Auditor

Integrity of judicial system must be protected

Because of our deep concern regarding the election for the open Superior Court judicial position, we write this letter to urge voters to learn more about the two candidates. We are lawyers who have practiced law in Kitsap County for over 25 years and are devoted to the well-being of our community and integrity of our profession. We know that an independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. We believe Judges must be held to the highest standards of honesty, ethical behavior, legal knowledge and skill, and conduct that promotes confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

While we find negative campaign letters most distasteful, after much soul-searching, we have concluded that our responsibility to protect the integrity of the judicial system compels us to point out our firm belief that one of the judicial candidates is ill-suited to serve as a Superior Court Judge.

In letters from members of KAPO (whose members are his chief financial supporters), candidate Bruce Danielson is lauded for his so-called principled refusal to accept donations and endorsements from other lawyers. While that may well be technically true, we don’t know of a single lawyer who would honestly lend his or her name to Mr. Danielson’s candidacy.

In his public forum appearances, Mr. Danielson has vowed to put an end to frivolous lawsuits. But he fails to point out he is one of the few Kitsap County lawyers who has been sanctioned and fined for filing and pursuing wholly frivolous litigation.

In his website, Mr. Danielson makes a number of misleading, if not false claims. He seems to claim he serves as a court-appointed arbitrator in Kitsap County. But he is not now, and has never been, on the Kitsap County Superior Court’s list of approved arbitrators. He claims to have expertise in 43 separate fields of law and experience in practicing in 18 counties throughout Washington State. Try as we may, we simply can’t find any evidence to support most of those claims. Take his claim of bankruptcy expertise as an example. We can’t find any regular bankruptcy practitioners who have ever seen him in Court; the Seattle Chapter 13 Trustee’s Office has never heard of him, and his name does not appear in the database that office maintains for attorneys who have participated in Chapter 13 proceedings since that database was first established some 15 years ago.

He claims to have extensive trial experience, including jury trial experience. Not only can we find no evidence to support that claim, when he’s been questioned at public forums, he’s declined to identify a single example where he has ever participated in a jury trial as a lawyer.

We could cite any number of additional examples to demonstrate why we feel as strongly as we do, but we think we’ve made our point.

Mr. Danielson’s opponent is Jeanette Dalton. While none of us know her other than professionally, we have carefully examined the claims she has made regarding her qualifications, experience and integrity. Because we are satisfied Ms. Dalton is well qualified to serve our community, she has earned our vote.

Before you vote, we encourage you to speak with your own lawyer or a judge that you may know and ask him or her who they believe is the best candidate to serve you, your family and our community.

Ron Templeton

John Mitchell

Roy Rainey

Peter Matty

Dick Peterson

Bill Crawford

John McGilliard

Mark Yelish

Steve Dixon

Bill Broughton

Actions earn Garrido endorsement

It’s been my life’s experience to watch a person’s actions, rather than just buying their words. Substance, consistency, a person’s judgment and character have always played a big role in my evaluating a person or thing. Aiming for one’s higher purpose, “higher” values, is something I was taught in my youth, the motto, “Say what you mean and mean what you say”. These philosophies and values have dictated my decisions; where I shop, what health care provider I see, who I associate with, what spiritual house I’ll worship in and even who I’ll endorse as a candidate. That’s why I’m voting for Charlotte Garrido.

I’ve watched Charlotte over the years matching her actions with her words. When Charlotte was Commissioner (1997-2000) she helped found the Work Source Development Center in East Bremerton (matching veterans; unemployed, single parent families and disabled individuals with jobs); she streamlined County jobs and budgets, established the Port Orchard’s Farmers market; uniting local farmers and merchants with patrons and has worked tirelessly over the years supporting sustainable life choices at home and professionally. She sat on the board of the Great Peninsula Future Festival, which educates and promotes a sustainable living within our community combining local “Green and Organic” businesses with the public needs. Visiting the Garrido home you can’t help but notice their organic garden, fruit trees, chickens, livestock and biodiesel Volkswagen. Charlotte Garrido’s walk, matches her talk. That’s why she’s my pick for Kitsap County Commissioner.

Diane Arnold

Charlotte Will Listen to You

Many people were surprised when Charlotte Garrido outpolled her Democratic opponent in the primary election for South Kitsap

commissioner this year. Her opponent, Monty Mahan, had a well-known name and some high-profile endorsements. As one local newspaper put

it, Charlotte was not “favored” to win.

Those of us who know Charlotte well were delighted but not astonished. We know her as a hard worker who gets the job done without the big ego

typical of so many politicians.

She’s the one who goes out day after day to knock on doors and get to know the citizens of Kitsap County and their concerns, one house at a

time. She’s the one who shows up just about anywhere she’s asked to speak, whether it’s the NAACP candidate forum in Bremerton or the

Kingston Cove Yacht Club gathering in the north end. She’s the one who sticks to her core values, including a belief that parks and open

space are precious, that green jobs can spark a new economic boom and that concern for the environment can coexist with responsible development.

I’ve known Charlotte for more than 30 years and I’ve always admired her work ethic, her common sense, her intelligence and her honesty.

These are the qualities we need in our next SK commissioner.

Ann Strosnider

Southworth

Garrido’s the most qualified

The election of new County Commissioners is a crucial one for those of us who live in Kitsap. That is why I am voting for the most qualified candidate in District 2: Charlotte Garrido.

The citizens of our fine county deserve elected officials who have a proven track record of knowledge, integrity, assertiveness, and an in-depth understanding of the issues affecting our county. An appreciation for parks and open space, advocating for local economic needs, including a sound infrastructure to support new business, a deep understanding of the county budget and the ability to get the most “bang for our tax buck,” a belief in “customer service” and seeking input from constituents – all are necessary attributes that Ms. Garrido possesses. I have not always agreed on issues with Charlotte over the past ten years and when we have had conversation about those differences, Charlotte has listened carefully, analyzed the situation, and then made decisions based on a wide range of information. She is not afraid to alter her position if the facts warrant it.

Charlotte Garrido has continued to advocate for a four-year college center for Kitsap, worked diligently to support the growth of a strong, local business economy, including attracting businesses with living wage jobs, and whether in or out of elected office, has never stopped working to make Kitsap County a better place.

In these challenging times we need strong informed leadership – we need Charlotte Garrido for County Commissioner.

Susan Leavell

Bremerton

Jeannette Dalton will work for voters

Soon the voters will cast their votes for a new Superior Court Judge. In the eyes of those practicing in the county the choice is clear: Jeanette Dalton. Jeanette has worked in Kitsap County for over two decades. She is well liked and respected by local practitioners and received high marks and support in the County Bar Association poll. Jeanette is smart, ethical and professional and will make a fine Superior Court Judge. Her opponent boast of having years of “Superior Court experience” as an arbitrator. Arbitrators and judges are very different. Arbitrators don’t sentence defendants or decide custody of children, for example. They decide civil cases below a certain financial limit. Comparing being an arbitrator and judge is like comparing being a baby sitter and parent. They’re not similar. Jeanette Dalton will be a fine addition to our county bench.

Jeff Tolman

Poulsbo

Bauer challenges statements

Two statements made by Sandra LaCelle in the Voters Pamphlet are not true and I believe it is important for voters to know the facts. Sandra says that I voted myself a pay increase in 2007 while cutting union health benefits to balance the budget. Neither statement is true.Here are the actual facts.

1. The unions and the county bargained a redesign of health benefits that resulted in a zero percent increase in health care costs for 2008. Our unions deserve great credit for doing this as a way to maintain services to the public and preserve jobs in the county. The board simply cannot impose cuts like this on the unions without their agreement.

2. I did not vote myself a pay increase in 2007. By law, commissioners cannot vote to increase or decrease their compensation during their term of office. Instead, I received a 2 percent increase for 2008 that was well below the cost of living increases granted to employees and other elected officials in the county. This 2 percent increase was set out in a schedule that was decided in 2004, prior to the beginning of this term of office.

The county is facing very serious challenges in the years ahead. Voters are entitled to the truth as they decide on which candidate to support.

Steve Bauer

Kitsap County Commissioner, District 1

Hansville