There she goes, Miss America

After nearly 10 years, the Miss Kitsap/Miss Poulsbo Pageant left the Miss America pageant competition.

The local pageant also dropped its swimsuit category and added categories for active wear and academics. Organizers said it would allow girls uncomfortable with the swimsuit component to compete.

Organizers cited a changing economy for dropping out of the national competitions, which it joined in 2000. The local pageant had been operating for 47 years.

Health care debate comes to town

After a summer of headlines about rambunctious town hall meetings about health care reform, North Kitsap had its own.

Although residents didn’t partake in the theatrics some other districts did — including Bremerton’s — the meeting at North Kitsap High School with U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, was spirited and well attended.

The bleachers and floor of the gym were packed and, although a majority of the applause went to comments in favor of reform, opponents came out in strength as well.

Inslee told constituents he supported President Barack Obama’s effort to extend health coverage to the uninsured and was also a proponent of a “public option,” or a health insurance plan run by the government that would compete with private insurance.

The public option was seen by some as politically unfeasible, and Inslee said if a proposal didn’t contain the provision, he might still vote for reform because the current system, with millions uninsured and many more underinsured, is a drain on the country’s resources.

Incumbent mayor ousted

Despite blaming the Poulsbo City Council for the decision to build Poulsbo’s new City Hall in downtown, with its nearly $16 million price tag, Mayor Kathryn Quade lost big in her reelection bid.

Quade had served a term on the council and then as mayor, and was known for her gracious, respectful demeanor and people skills.

Enter Becky Erickson. A spirited councilwoman elected two years before the mayor election on a platform of “smart growth,” Erickson scrutinized the new building and its finances and took city staff to task, all the while challenging Quade.

In addition to the contention that came with City Hall, presiding over the city as it lost car dealerships and saw Olympic Outdoor Center abandon Poulsbo’s downtown for Port Gamble, Quade ruffled feathers over the summer when she proposed rezoning a city park. She later explained the intention was to streamline public open space in the area, but the proposal drew a sharp response from residents, who organized in opposition and packed city meetings.

Quade withdrew the proposal, but didn’t withdraw herself unscathed: A leader of the opposition publicly backed Erickson.

So did voters, who ousted Quade in the November election, voting 53 percent to 46 percent to replace Quade with Erickson.