OLYMPIA — As International Speedway Corp. (ISC) pleads its case for a local racetrack to the Washington State Legislature, the subject has shattered the relative calm that once prevailed over local political interaction.

“The racetrack has become a most divisive issue,” said Poulsbo City Councilman Ed Stern. “Several years ago, the various local governments were all at each other’s throats, but that changed in the late 1990s. Since then, we have been like a family, which is unusual. Several elected officials in other locations have noticed how well we get along, and wish it was that way where they lived.”

Things have changed, Stern said, during debates about the racetrack.

“There is a lot of animosity between the cities,” he said. “And we’re a lot more divided.”

The source of the controversy can be traced to Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman, who, along with South Kitsap Commissioner Jan Angel, is the only executive level elected official who has actively supported the track.

Bozeman and Angel testified in favor of the track this week in front of a legislative committee. Local officials testifying against the track included county commissioners Josh Brown and Chris Endresen along with mayors Darlene Kordonowy, Kathryn Quade and Kim Abel, respectively from Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo and Port Orchard.

“Relations have been eroded somewhat,” said Quade. “As a county, we have always supported what was good for Bremerton.”

Now, Quade feels Bremerton is not considering what is best for the county.

Bozeman, in his vocal racetrack support, has spoken out in favor of his city’s annexation of the racetrack site. This has caused a rift with the county commissioners. Endresen said such an action would deny the county’s oversight, while Angel feels that if the county doesn’t want the track, Bremerton should get a chance.

Throughout, the disagreements are issue-oriented and not personal. And there is never any doubt that the various parties have their own idea of what is best for the county at heart.

“It is inevitable that different jurisdictions will have different interests,” said Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council Executive Director Mary McClure. “We need to be able to keep benefiting from the conversations. It is only a disaster if people stop coming to the table.”

Bozeman doesn’t feel his zealous support endangers intergovernmental relations.

“We’re just having a good debate about an issue,” Bozeman said. “It’s not uncommon for people to see things another way. It’s healthy for the community. Seattle and King County have debates all the time on a variety of topics.”

Quade, who believes the rift is repairable, said that whatever happens the city and county governments will have no problem working together in the future. Abel feels the source of the conflict comes from the the ISC’s bill.

“The legislation pits governments against each other,” she said. “Essentially, whoever plays the nicest with ISC will get favored treatment. The legislation seems ill-advised for a county that usually works well together.”

Abel said the track has forced jurisdictions to compete as to who will provide sewers and who will supervise retail permitting for the event site.

Kitsap Association of Realtors Government Affairs Director Mike Eliason sees the racetrack as one of a series of polarizing issues, like land use and the protection of the spotted owl, about which people agree to disagree.

The most important thing, he said, is that the opposing parties do so without being disagreeable.

Brown, who opposes the legislation because it represents “bad public policy,” said the bill is defeated by its own complexity. “They should have just had a simple bill that provided for repayment of the bond,” he said. “The current bill is just too complicated.”

Brown doesn’t feel that people who take sides on the track will be penalized for those choices in the future.

“I try to look toward the long term,” Brown said. “I don’t see any problem in the cities, the counties, the ports and the tribes working together along with Olympia.”