Bremerton has a new police chief and because of this a very important hurdle in moving this city forward has been overcome.

Bremerton has spent the last several years starving and yearning for a visible and communicative law enforcement leader in the top position. As a city we have suffered with more than one unsolved murder as well as continued issues of vandalism, assaults and drug crimes. We have suffered as a community from departmental public relations nightmares associated with our police department that dominated the local and regional headlines.

Thankfully, the odd limbo of limited and visibly absent leadership that has existed and endured over these past few years is finally over as the mantle has now  passed to a highly experienced individual who was selected from the outside the local system to be our new chief.

I would like to welcome our new Police Chief Steve Strachan to Bremerton first as an employee and hopefully very soon as a fellow resident. Given the opportunity, I would tell Chief Strachan about the diversity of our community. We are unique. Our neighborhoods are the organized backbone of involvement, participation and assistance that are continuing to look for help with the problem drug properties. I would tell him that our businesses want to do their business without the worry of crime and or vandalism by known and documented graffiti taggers who continue to repeat their crimes. And I would say that our residents and their children want to be able to navigate the streets and crosswalks of the city safely because of effective and routine traffic enforcement.

I would encourage the new chief to come out and get to know the residents of Bremerton. We very much want to get to know you. We look forward to hearing what your top priorities are going to be. And about your plans for communicating with the public on a regular basis. We want to know what pivotal changes you are looking to implement quickly and those that will take more time.

In the coming months there will be many public, neighborhood and community opportunities for all of us to meet. There will be parades, charity events, city council district meetings and neighborhood association meetings. We encourage and welcome your attendance or participation.

Congratulations on your new position Chief Strachan and congratulations to Bremerton for this excellent opportunity to turn an important corner. A strong partnership between the community and its police leadership can and should make for a better Bremerton.