Over the years there have been individuals in leadership and elected positions who have truly helped me as a citizen to understand local civics and public stewardship. They have taken the time to talk with me on multiple occasions even when we did not see eye-to-eye on the issue at hand.

They never treated me like a naughty child who could not possibly understand, and most importantly they never acted as though the fact that their rather simple elected status immediately bestowed upon them powers and insight far above those of mere citizens.

This month it was announced that Port Commissioner Roger Zabinski would not be seeking another term.

Roger has been my representative on the commission since he was elected in 2009. I will admit I did not vote for him then and had concerns about what his election would mean. Roger was one of the first elected officials to provide me with his home number and encouraged me to pick up the phone and call him anytime I had a question or concern in regards to the port. Because of this open door policy we had many discussions over the years and my respect for his stewardship grew.

I always appreciated the fact that instead of just telling me what his position was or was going to be, Roger always took the time to educate me on the history, background and important details of the issues and let me come to my own conclusion.

I have been to some of the public meetings held up there at the Port. It is not an easy environment to operate in. Quite honestly it is extremely uncomfortable at times to watch as a taxpayer and a citizen.

At one meeting a staff member was so belligerent to all of the commissioners and disrespectful of the public in attendance that I was dumbfounded. In all of my years of public meetings I had not seen anything quite like that before. I suspect that this is most likely because that type of behavior anywhere else would have been cause for immediate employment termination.

The quality level of elected public service and stewardship to taxpayers always runs the risk of disproportion when there are too many members of a board or commission and most especially when there are too few. With only three commission members at the Port level, the opportunity for dysfunction is a constant presence.

A three member commission means that ALL of the civic sausage grinding must be done in public at large, lengthy and cumbersome meetings. The opportunity for committee work and breaking some of it up into smaller portions simply does not exist. I see this lack of process as being part of the problem as to why the Port of Bremerton has not been able to garner the success and tenant level that it should have by now.

Consideration of expanding the Port of Bremerton Commission from three members to five members is one that should be taken seriously.

I will close by saying that I personally thank Commissioner Zabinski for his service to the Port, to the community of Bremerton and to me as one of his constituents.

I thank him for finishing out his term of service and wish him well with his new job that sounds like a wonderful opportunity.