Thanks For Coming!

I know, I know, it’s been a week … we’ve been recovering from the debate and that incredible set from Finn Riggins. Thanks to all of you who came, who asked questions, who drank beer, who ran for office, who played music, and whatever else was going on at the Hi-Fi last week. Let’s do it again, folks. Hey, look, you can re-live the whole thing thanks to KitsapSun.com.

Advertisement

 

Tonight! Bremelog.com’s Presents a Debate Between the Two Candidates For Mayor, and a Set From Finn Riggins at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge

See you all at 7 p.m.(ish)!

 

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.”

 

The Posters Are In!!! Bremelog.com’s Mayoral Debate: 7 p.m., Oct. 14, Hi-Fidelity Lounge

Many thanks to our fabulous illustrator, Jessie Randklev, for her work on the poster. Look for them around town in the near future. We’ll be posting more information on the debate and the musical guests, Finn Riggins, in the coming weeks. Little more about both over there.

 

Mayoral Candidates Have Sharpened Their Positions On Passenger-Only Ferries. Sort Of.

Thinking about David Morse’s guest column today, here’s a look at what the mayoral candidates said regarding passenger-only ferry service at last week’s Chamber of Commerce forum (full report on K-Sun’s Bremerton Beat).

Will Maupin said passenger-only ferries should be part of a long-range state plan that current service should start conforming to now.

Patty Lent said passenger-only should be operated by the private sector.

What do y’all think? Does anyone think a Mayor Maupin could get the state back into the passenger-only business, or at least inside some kind of plan to make this happen? And is Patty Lent kicking passenger-only ferries to the curb by relegating them to the private sector?

We’ll address this issue and many more at Bremelog.com’s mayoral forum/debate/concert on October 14 at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge.

 

Announcement: Bremelog.com Will Host Bremerton-Style Mayoral Forum on October 14 at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge

And by Bremerton-style, we mean mashing up music, politics, and cocktails.

So, come October 14, Bremelog.com will host/moderate a conversation between Patty Lent and Will Maupin, the two candidates duking it out to be Bremerton’s next mayor.

Boise band — and longtime friends of The Bremelogger — Finn Riggins will perform at the event.

Further details will be released soon. But, for now, plan on showing up for cocktails at 7 p.m., Oct. 14, at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge and sticking around for a conversation with the mayoral candidates and your neighbors. And stick around for one of Boise’s — and my — favorite bands.

Now some homework: I want you to tell me what you want asked of the candidates. What questions do you have? What hasn’t been addressed thus far? Send them my way or leave comments here. You’ll be hearing plenty more about this event in the coming weeks, but let’s get it started by hearing from you.

More to come.

— Chris Kornelis, Editor, Bremelog.com

 

Carlos Jara on the Election Results, His Next Move, and Why the Other Candidate Wrote Down His Ideas

Between the time he was called to dinner and finally took his seat, Thursday evening, I had a chance to catch up with former Bremerton mayoral candidate Carlos Jara. He was reorganizing his office when I called, cleaning up what became ground zero for his long-shot campaign for mayor.

From the beginning Jara — the youngest, least politically experienced, and final candidate to enter the five-person primary campaign — knew he was the underdog. But at the end of the day, he brought in 12 percent of the vote, earned the endorsement (along with Will Maupin) of the Kitsap Sun’s editorial board, and impressed finalist Patty Lent enough for her to proclaim that he would make a fine candidate for small-business liaison.

Here’s what we talked about:

 

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

 

Maupin, Lent Lead Early Returns in Bremerton’s Mayoral Race, Shepherd’s a Close Third

Mike Shepherd, addressing supporters mintues before the early returns came in.

You could feel the oxygen get sucked out of the room when Mike Shepherd and about 30 supporters got the news just after 8:15 p.m. at Mad Moose Pizza.

“It’ll be alright,” he told the crowd as they noshed on pizza and sipped Moose Drool.

Shepherd, a city councilman who led the yard sign poll months before the other four candidates for mayor of Bremerton even entered the race, pulled in 23.98 percent of the votes in early returns tonight, enough to rank him third behind former Kitsap County commisioner Patty Lent, with 27.74 percent, and city councilman Will Maupin, with 28.57 pecent of the votes. Non-profit executive Daryl Daugs brought in 8 percent of the early votes, while local business owner Carlos Jara brought nearly 11 percent.

Though results in the close race will continue to be released later this week, “To me, it’s a victory,” Lent said in call from Brother Don’s, where she celebrated with friends and supporters. “From what the statistics are right now, I’m very confident.”

Lent says she plans to start doorbelling again on Wednesday. “If Will’s having a tough time making decisions on the budget, I want to see areas I can help improve that,” she said in reference to comments Maupin made at a budget meeting last month. “That’s a very important factor and we both need to be on top of our game.”

Maupin — who celebrated at home with his family and about 30 supporters — said he wasn’t surprised by tonight’s results and doesn’t expect them to change. “My real gut feeling ahead of time was that it was going to come out just the way it did,” he said in a call earlier tonight. Maupin said he plans to take a little bit of time off before getting his committe together and mapping out a strategy.

Shepherd, meanwhile, is not ready to give up hope.

“It’s amazing that it’s this close,” he said at Mad Moose. “100 votes might (make) the winner.”

Jara and Daugs have not yet returned calls for comment.

— Chris Kornelis

Note: During the primary campaign, Bremelog.com has focused its coverage on the mayor’s race. Look for coverage on the other races affecting Bremeton voters between now and November’s general election.