Deborah Jackson’s a Mother, a Fighter, and She Just Launched a Write-In Campaign to Be the Next Mayor of Bremerton

Deborah Jackson didn’t plan to run for mayor. She’d considered a run for a different elected office, but until she met with a few supporters of former mayoral candidate Mike Shepherd on Saturday, she hadn’t given a run any thought. But her friends and fellow supporters encouraged her to run. So she thought about it. She consulted her “higher power.” And on Tuesday, the executive of the non-profit Surviving Change made her write-in campaign for mayor of Bremerton official. (Read Mike Shepherd’s comments here.) Here is an excerpt from our conversation:

Why did you decide to run for mayor?

I felt like the people weren’t left with a choice. Everybody comes and talks about the committees that they sit on and all the stuff that they’ve done. And then I looked at what did they support? One of the candidates, they used the HUD money to build that, you know, the condominiums, you know what I’m saying? Then it was a hidden agenda for that.

We still got the homeless. We still got the people that didn’t have nowhere to take them to transitition them out of West Park to somewhere else, but then you took that money did that with it and then … welfare for the rich. You know what I’m saying?

There’s so much that I’m passionate about, I just feel the needs and the burdens and the cries. I weep for my community, you know what I’m saying? I advocate. I’m in the courts, I’m in the schools, I’m down in Olympia. I fight for my people. And people don’t listen to us, like we don’t matter, we don’t care, and we don’t have a voice, when we built Bremerton.

We got all these newcomers that came here, and like, we were supposed to be stupid and ignorant. And they come with their ideals and what they think we should have, when they left out what was our real needs. The beautification and the upgrade was fine, but we still should have left our downtown. But did they come and ask the people what they wanted? Instead of like dictating to us? And these people don’t know where they belong. And I want (the people) to feel like I feel now: Free. You have a voice, and you count and you matter, you understand what I’m saying?

 

Mike Shepherd On Why He Lost the Primary, and Why He’s Supporting Write-In Candidate Deborah Jackson for Mayor

Mike Shepherd, the only candidate to challenge then-incumbent Mayor Cary Bozeman, was ringing doorbells and setting up his ubiquitous campaign sings around Bremerton months before Bozeman dropped out of the race and four other candidates jumped in. That he did not advance to the general election — nudged aside by Will Maupin and Patty Lent — was more than a surprise.

“We were shocked,” he says. “I mean really shocked by how that came down.”

He blames his loss largely on the fact that he and his supporters underestimated how much work would be needed to get out the vote. “I believe that there was some complacency.”

And after meeting with a group of supporters recently, he says he’s still not interested in endorsing Maupin or Lent.

“It really wasn’t about me, it was about an idea,” he says. “The supporters, the folks who really believed in this idea of changing direction, didn’t want to endorse either of these two candidates. They didn’t see a difference. They asked Deborah Jackson to think about carrying on the torch to make a difference in this town.”

 

Someone Needs to Remind Cary Bozeman That He Didn’t Serve as Bremerton’s Mayor for Two Terms

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev.

And it’s not accurate to call himself a two-term mayor, like he did this week in his new blog for KitsapSun.com. Sure, it’s convenient to say two-term mayor. But, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say almost-two-term mayor? I know it doesn’t sound very good. But it seems like for the honor to call yourself a two-term mayor, you need to have served two full terms as mayor, not one term and quitting most of the way through your second.

 

Mike Shepherd Won’t Endorse Will Maupin or Patty Lent for Bremerton Mayor

“They’re not responsive to the needs of the community,” mayoral candidate and City Councilman Mike Shepherd says of Patty Lent and Will Maupin, his rivals who appear headed for November’s general election. “They’re both largely financed by developers and corporations and that’s just not who we are.”

With barely a handful of votes left to be counted, Shepherd doesn’t expect his 1,329 votes (23.8 percent) in the Aug. 18, primary election to catch up to former Kitsap County Commissioner Lent’s 1,474 (26.44 percent) or City Councilman Maupin’s 1,604 (28.77 percent). “

While Shepherd says he’s not “Not a conceder … I can’t can’t imagine the numbers changing a whole lot.”

Shepherd, who was former mayor Cary Bozeman’s only competitor before Bozeman abruptly dropped out of the race and resigned from office to become the CEO of the Port of Bremerton, says he’s gonna take the next couple weeks off before moving onto his next project: opposing the $30 car tab proposal that voters will see on the November ballot. “That’s the way it is,” Shepherd said. “I’ll move on to the car tabs issue and working for the people that elected me (for city council).”

– Chris Kornelis

 

Well, Folks, It’s Time To Vote

There are only a few hours left to get your ballots in the mail before Tuesday’s primary election. Here’s a quick look at what Bremerton’s five candidates for mayor had to say about downtown. Click the candidate name to read the full conversation. Now don’t forget to vote!

Mike Shepherd: “You know, you get your basic structures, then you have to work on the people in the immediate area and start filling it in with families. So that it’s vigorous and there’s people around, then businesses will come and provide those things that the people want. The problem is though that the people that we expected to move here aren’t moving.”

Will Maupin: “Until the city of Bremerton becomes a vibrant urban center, Bremerton is always going to be seen as second class. And it will extend out to help everybody in the city. It will bring in more revenue, allow the city to provide more services, provide more money to do things outside the downtown core. But I would definitely not be as focused on just the downtown core as Bozeman has been.”

Patty Lent: “I thought that Cary had a good start. I thought he brought in some good changes. But I think that the rest of the city limits missed out on what he was accomplishing. And if you don’t have a new look you’re not going to attract new businesses or residents. He accomplished that. Now I want the rest of the city limits to take and have some of that success and some of that invigoration.”

Daryl Daugs: “One of the things that helps out with downtown is that it actually can become a destination …. and that doesn’t mean that people have to live there. The downtown area will be much better off when the condos are full. And when Ron Sher’s building has retail in it and residential is full.”

Carlos Jara: “The mayor, for all the good things he did in the community, you never really saw him in other businesses down here. How often would you come downtown and see him in Fritz? You sure saw him at Anthony’s. You sure would saw him at Starbucks. I don’t believe that. I would be in every business in the community, checking in on them. Because I’m part of that business community. The most important thing for me as mayor for me is checking in on them.”

 

Mike Shepherd Takes Extra Pickles With His Blue Cheese Burger, Was Bozeman’s Only Challenger, and Still Wants to Be Bremerton’s Mayor

It's OK, Mike, I regret every one of my sweater purchases, too.

When Mike Shepherd and I sat down for poached eggs back in March, there was still snow the ground, he had just started putting up yard signs, and Cary Bozeman was the strong incumbent with one oppontent: City Councilman Mike Shepherd. As of yesterday, Shepherd says he has 800 signs in the ground, is facing four oppontents in Tuesday’s primary, and none of them are the former mayor of Bellevue. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation over pints of Mac & Jacks at the South Pacific:

It’s he end of the primary.

It’s pretty cool. I’m ready for this phase of it to be over and see what happens next.

You were the only challenger for Cary Bozeman. Do you feel like everybody else has crashed your party?

No. Not crashed the party. But if somebody was serious about doing something, you’d think they’d do some preparations. So, we’ll see how it goes. I mean, it certainly helped me personally to do this mid-year, mid-term sprint.

When you got into the race, it seemed like your message was as the anti-Bozeman candidate. When we first spoke you said that too much attention had been paid to downtown and the outlying areas had been neglected. Is that still your position?

Well, just to clarify, it was wasn’t just being anti-Bozeman. I’ve been involved in the whole design of this re-development since before the beginning. I was the one that pulled the plug on the old original downtown plan which was done in ’89. So I have this whole history of knowing what the plan really was and is.

There were components of the plan that included buildings, like the government center and the convention center, and the marina. At that point though, that kind of focus on construction and buildings always was to shift and move to the next circle out, which would be the people, really, the residential areas immediately around the downtown. Because that’s where the people are that will come to the downtown. Downtown won’t work if people won’t come, and don’t value what’s down there. We needed to make that shift, and we weren’t making it.

 

Bozeman’s Not Even Running, But He’s Still the Largest Fundraiser Among Mayoral Candidates

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev.

Just thumbing through a few public disclosures and noticed that during his time running/not running for mayor, Cary Bozeman brought in $47,237 for his re-election campaign since 2007. That easily makes him the money leader in the race, even though he is no longer running. According to documents filed with the Public Disclosure Commission, Bozeman spent $33,685 of his haul, $3,150 of it refunding contributions.

As for the remaining $14,000 or so, Bozeman said in an email: “As soon as the primary is over I will be donating my funds to the Harrison Medical Center Foundation.”

Lori Anderson, a spokesperson for the state’s Public Disclosure Commission says that Bozeman is not required to return any of the campaign contributions, and that he is allowed to spend the surplus by donating to a charitable organization registered with the Secretary of State.

He made the following reimbursements:
– James Nall, $1,500
– American Maritime International Inc., $1,000
– Guy Stitt, $400
– The BJC Group Inc. $250

These gentlemen are among his contributors:
– Ron Sher: $750 (He owns the J.C. Penny’s building.)
– Tim Ryan Construction: $250 (You’ve seen his new building by the Admiral.)
– Gary Sexton: $350: He is, as Bozeman says, “The Man Behind the (Waterfront) Park.)

The rest of the field is as follows:
– Patty Lent: $34,878 and has spent $34,810
– Will Maupin: $19,990 and has spent $15,735 (Bozeman donated $100)
– Daryl Daugs: $15,410 and has spent $15,183
– Mike Shepherd: $11,397 and has spent $7,054
– Carlos Jara: $4,859 and has spent $4,929

– Chris Kornelis

 

Patty Lent’s a Harley-Riding Grandmother, Former County Commissioner, and Wants to Be Bremerton’s Next Mayor

This is the latest in a series of interviews with the men and woman running for mayor of Bremerton. Read my previous chats with Will Maupin, Daryl Daugs, Mike Shepherd, and Carlos Jara.

Is it possible that Patty Lent is the only Harley rider alive who orders a single poached egg and toast for breakfast. No, I didn’t order the t-bone and eggs at The Family Pancake House, either — I’ve learned my lesson, and play to the House’s strengths. But now that I think about it, Lent is the second mayoral candidate I’ve dined with — after breakfast at Hi-Lo’s with Mike Shephered — to take her eggs poached. Over her one and my three eggs at the FPH recently, Lent told me why she cut short a family vacation to run for mayor, why Bremertonians think they shouldn’t pay for parking downtown, and why her competitor, Carlos Jara, would make a great small-business liaison.

“I think he is going to make a very good political person. I’d like to see him have more experience. I don’t think this is his time yet.”

Spoken like a true politician.

What was it about the race that made you drop everything and get in?

With my experience and their budget pitfalls, I really feel that they need some of this expertise that I’m going to bring to the job.

My real expertise is in Washing. D.C. We’re gonna have to use some of that stimulus money and other grant money for us to to continue having programs that we have because our revenue streams will not cover the expenditures that the city (has accrued).

Cary Bozeman and Gary Sexton were successful at bringing home federal dollars. You hadn’t gotten into the campaign when Bozeman was still in. Does that mean you thought he had been doing a good job and you thought he should continue?

I think he was a mayor for the time. And timing is everything. When he came on board he was going to bring some outside money and some visionary things to Bremerton. There are a lot of old time residents and a lot of money that is in Bremerton. I just didn’t see where our current residents were willing to step up and invest their money in changes. They were pretty content. Not with necessarily what was happening to Bremerton — because it’s been 20 years of decline — but people have a tough time with change, and that’s the only constant thing that we have is change.

So, I thought that Cary had a good start. I thought he brought in some good changes. He kept the voters involved. He had a newsletter that was positive and dynamic and upbeat. But i think that the rest of the city limits missed out on what he was accomplishing. And if you don’t have a new look you’re not going to attract new businesses or residents. He accomplished that. Now I want the rest of the city limits to take and have some of that success and some of that invigoration.

You mentioned that Mr. Bozeman did a good job with downtown and giving it a new look but that the outlying areas needed to be improved, too. What do you think needs to be done further to downtown, and can you do that as well as bring a new look and energy to the rest of the city?

I think you can. And I think I can as the mayor. Downtown still has empty buildings and empty condominiums. When I say fill in, I mean fill that in as well.

 

Carlos Jara Likes Pale Ale, Knows He’s the Underdog, and Wants to Be the Next Mayor of Bremerton

This is the latest in a series of interviews with candidates for mayor. My conversations with Daryl Daugs, Will Maupin, and Mike Shepherd are already online. My chat with Patty Lent will be live … soon.

Carlos Jara’s “campaign headquarters,” Fritz Fry House, serves pale ale, Stella Artois, and Belgian fries. And if he gets his way, downtown Bremerton will be filled with a lot more similar businesses: locally-owned, frequented by locals and tourists, and serving plenty of beer. In fact the guy who came of age in Austin, Texas at the same time that micro brews started taking off in town, says he envisions downtown Bremerton to be something of a microbrewery district.

As the youngest candidate lining up for the office of Bremerton, he also has the least amount of political experience. But as the owner of Harborside Market at the ferry terminal, he says his experience as the executive of a small business in Bremerton more than makes up for his lack of time in elected office.

For a guy who spent 13 years climbing the ladder at MCI/Verizon, do you think you’re skipping a few rungs by jumping from small-business owner to mayor?

No, No. The city, no matter which way you look at it, is a business. I don’t consider it a gargantuan jump. I’ve been my own executive for five years now. The basic premises of doing the right thing are there and leading by example are there.

I’ve managed a large group of people. I’ve managed budgets. Managing in a frugal manner is what’s key here. As a small-business owner, that’s something I excel at. Who else would you want as a mayor rather than somebody that believes you need to operate on a very tight belt. You need to be developing rainy day funds, and more importantly snow day funds.

Had you been on the city council for a number of years and had your hands in the inner-workings of the city, would that have made you more qualified?

I don’t think it would. City council is the legislative arm of the city. It’s not the executive arm of the city. So, if you’ve been a legislature for a long time, it might make you a good executor, but when you’ve been your own executive for a while, I think that’s more of the synergy you’re looking for in a mayor.

 

Daryl Daugs Dig’s Downtown’s Flavor, BBQ Chips, and Wants to Be Bremerton’s Next Mayor

This is the first in a series of interviews with the men and woman who want to be Bremerton’s next mayor. I’ll have my conversation with Will Maupin up soon. Promise.

In my takeaway remarks from last week’s Eggs & Issues breakfast with the mayoral candidates I noted that “Daryl Daugs sounds almost as anti-Bozeman as Shepherd.” The first thing he did when we sat down to eggs and issues at the Coffee Club, recently, was inform me that he was nothing like Councilman Mike Shepherd. “My campaign is not that everything that’s happened over the last eight years is crap.”

Among the topics discussed, Daugs had the following to say over a taco omelet and more cups of coffee than I can count:

On the notion that the Bozeman administration focused on downtown at the expense of neighborhood streets and sidewalks:

We have (some) original pavement and original sidewalks. The idea that we haven’t been maintaining and replacing sidewalks and the streets in the neighborhoods suddenly in the last eight years is not true. It’s been like that for a long time. As far as the stuff that’s gone on downtown. I haven’t liked how everything’s been accomplished downtown, but I like the flavor.

On neighborhoods other than downtown:

If you look at cities like Seattle and Bellevue … they used to have neighborhoods with distinct flavor and they become very homogenized. Take for example the community of Ballard. Ballard used to be the great little quirky little Norwegian fisherman community to go to. It’s completely lost that flavor. Everything in Seattle kind of looks the same no matter where you go to.

The people that have brought houses in Manette want to focus in Manette and the unique flavor of Manette. Same with the newer people who are moving into the downtown corridor. We really need to focus on that.