Monday evening the Kitsap Democratic precinct captains narrow the list of commissioner candidates to three. Derek Sheppard is on the case and will report on it later.

Any thoughts on the favorites?

Update: Derek Sheppard reports that Stephen Bauer emerged tonight as the party's first choice. Tom Nevins was picked second and Clarence Moriwaki third.

Sheppard said 86 precinct officers were there. The procedure was the officers were to write the first choice on a piece of paper. There wasn't a majority on the first vote. A few candidates who received zero or one vote were eliminated, then the voting continued until there was a majority. Sheppard said he heard it was clear from the beginning of the voting who the top three were. It was just a question of the order. County Commissioner Josh Brown was there and told Sheppard he and fellow commissioner Jan Angel would make a selection from the three on July 2.

You may have heard that some people were less than enamored with Congressman Norm Dicks' speech at the UW commencement ceremony Saturday. The Belfair Democrat's biggest sin was going too long in the rain. But some people were upset that he ventured into politics. I haven't read the speech, but based on the two stories in the Seattle Times, he mentioned the Democrats regaining the House and cleaning up Puget Sound. Compared to what I saw at my father's 1972 graduation from Cal State Los Angeles, Dicks' speech sounds mild.

The second Times story reveals that Al Gore was the UW's first choice and Dicks' response to the heckling.

To be fair, Dicks did get loud applause at times — such as when he mentioned how the Huskies beat the Cougars three years running when he was playing on the team in the early 1960s and when he talked about the Democrats taking control of Congress last year.

"At the end of the speech, the applause was very good," Dicks added.

"They were glad it was over."

When looking at the county-wide elections filings list, the thing that strikes me are how few school board races are contested. As much flak as school boards around the county get, you'd think more people would run for office. Out of the 14 board positions in Kitsap County, four are contested.

Why do you think that is?

If you want to see the county-wide list, go HERE.

It's time for the first edition of "Kitsap Caucus: You're on Notice," a weekly ripoff of Stephen Colbert.

Today's edition starts with Colbert, specifically his interview with Tacoma Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, who brazenly gave up national security secrets in his interview with the host. Don't believe me? Watch the video.

Second on this week's list is Port Commissioner Mary Ann Huntington. If other voters feel as frequent blog commenter Bob Meadows does, "I would vote for a worthless egg-sucking yellow dog, if that were the only other choice on the ballot," it could be a rough election season for Huntington.

Fourth placer could be revealed June 18, when Democratic precinct officers make their top three choices to replace County Commissioner Chris Endresen. If the party doesn't reveal the placement of the runners up, then all eight will be left to ponder how they managed to end up just out of range.

2008 is on the board, because it was clear to me Thursday it's already a major issue for Kitsap County Democrats in the commissioner decision. There's a presidential election, too? Wow. What a coincidence.

We're having trouble with a couple brands of diapers. Apparently the makers assumed our son's clothes were designed to act in teamwork with the diaper, so we'd be fine if the diaper caught some of the deposit and left the rest to his "My daddy loves me," onesie. That wasn't our understanding.

An Alabama senator punched another one recently. I'm not mad they fought, I just want better camera angles.

Diamond Parking is on notice because when the company tickets you in Bremerton, it provides you with a plastic envelope that seems perfectly suitable for a single stamp. But if you mail it with one stamp, you'll get it back. The postal service wants 17 cents more, because it can't run the envelopes through a machine. Expect a story.

Finally, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer is on notice for sending Paris Hilton back to jail. Ask yourselves America, if Paris Hilton can be jailed, are any of us really free?

Remember, "You're on notice" means "I'm watching you," not "You're dead to me," which is a different Colbert subject. Send me your nominations for things or people you're getting a little suspicious of, or getting a little tired of, or you think are not getting the attention they should. Feel free to duplicate other peoples' nominations. If something gets nominated a lot, it's more likely to get on the board.

Then again, this isn't scientific and is subject to the blogmaster's personal bias and sense of what's relevant and/or funny. The board will be updated as frequently as once a week.

Thursday's candidate event, however, was a model of order. Only once did the timekeeper have to tell a speaker to stop. Surprisingly, it wasn't for Ed Stern. I'll explain that quip later.

It surprised me that the 2008 election came up as often as it did. It makes sense to me now. The party wants a strong incumbent to hold on to the seat. James Weaver was the only one to hold out the possibility that he could do so much between now and November 2008 that it might be better he not run. That 2008 was important to precinct officers made it doubly important that the candidates make solid impressions in increments less than two minutes. Some pulled it off. Some didn't. The following is a list of the candidates, and what I think they did or didn't do well.

Dennis Sexton -- He brings some union endorsements with him and a blue-collar presence. He's worked for the Navy and in construction. He probably made some friends with his anti-speedway and anti-Wal-Mart stances, and for his support of cleaning up Puget Sound. Compared to the other speakers I didn't get the sense his arguments won the night.

Robert Gelder -- The Martha & Mary fund director speaks well. He apparently can raise money. But when John Kerry said "I'm reporting for duty," he had 60 minutes to offer substance. Gelder's first two minutes included, "I want this job because it's a chance to serve the community," "This is my time to step up and serve," and "I want to be in a position to effect the direction of our county." He did later speak in broad terms about land use planning and specifically agreed with Ed Stern about the county's budget crisis. Gelder may have a future in politics, but I'm not sure he showed enough expertise on specifics Thursday to win anyone over. He was up against an experienced crowd.

Stephen Bauer -- He made the case early on that in two years the county commission will have two commissioners with limited experience. With 26 years experience with government, he could become the most seasoned of the three. He discussed his Portland budget experiences, said the debate on impact fees should be on how you get to the number, not the number itself and that the county has the perception of not supporting the Growth Management Act. If he was unknown before the night began, he may have become credible. Enough?

Clarence Moriwaki -- He probably got his most love from the audience when his entire answer was "no" to whether he would have allowed Wal-Mart to go in the way Ed Stern did. Moriwaki has solid public speaking skills and political experience including as a successful candidate. He spoke authoritatively about the budget, land use and NASCAR and effectively referenced his own experience in making his arguments. If there was a downside to his performance, it would only be based on expectations for him. If people know Moriwaki and have come to expect this kind of presence from him, then maybe it wasn't a surprise.

Tom Nevins -- Nevins offered to let me come to his house to file my story. It wasn't necessary, but it kind of exemplifies him. People who disagree with Nevins still like him, from what I've seen. Some think he's too extreme. There's another post on this blog where a commenter made that case, saying he hopes Nevins gets the job because he'd be easy to beat in 2008. He's a genial presence and staunch defender of the environment. His supporters handed out a green sheet with a letter encouraging others to vote for him. It had 30 names. At least five were PCOs. Perhaps all of them were. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he emerged as one of the top three.

Lynn Nordby -- I covered Bainbridge Island for the final part of Nordby's government career. He's another guy most people like. I think he wowed the crowd on one occasion, when he spoke movingly of a family on the island that was killed when they lived in a home that would not have been allowed under current code. It was an attempt to show the real impact of solid land use planning. He spent years in government, but never ran for office. He's low key, but he speaks with authority. I believe I must mention that he left Bainbridge Island on his own terms, but there were council members who wanted him out earlier. They thought him an ineffective manager. A consultant's study didn't name him specifically, but said employees didn't know their roles. On the flip side, Bainbridge commissioned another consultant survey and found employees weren't any happier a few years later under a new boss.

Barbara Stephenson -- I've had several people who have considered Stephenson a lock to be one of the three nominated. But she, like Moriwaki, might suffer from high expectations. She has won two countywide elections. She was, however, the first at the table to say "Growth needs to pay for growth," in addressing impact fees, a phrase that came up more than once afterward. She is one of those whose experience will have to help her, but I did speak to one PCO who was disappointed in her presentations Thursday. It wasn't disappointment on the substance, but the presence. If she makes it to the top three, you'd have to believe her experience in the county government would help her cause with Josh Brown and Jan Angel.

Ed Stern -- When I covered Poulsbo, often other council members would press to have Stern make his presentations shorter. It was all in fun, but the guy speaks, a lot. He didn't have any trouble keeping his remarks short Thursday. He demonstrated an expertise on planning, impact fees and made at least a couple pitches for telecommuting. He also referenced that his opposition to the Kitsap Economic Development Council's involvement with the NASCAR proposal probably cost him a seat on the council. He also explained why he wasn't a member of either party for so long, citing how when he was a McGovern Democrat both parties sent too many kids to Vietnam. He said he's back. What may hurt him is how he voted on Wal-Mart in Poulsbo, but it was part of his statement that governance is balancing what people want with the law. He thought he was bound by the law to vote the way he did. That may not matter to people picking three for the commissioner spot.

Chris Van Dyk -- He's most well known for being against public funding of sports complexes, but surprisingly offered the most conciliatory reference to the pro-speedway crowd. He said he understood why they wanted it, because of local need for sales tax revenues. He demonstrated an ability to grasp the issues, but is in the learning process about this county. He's done a lot on the other side of the water. Like others, he speaks well. He has apparently run good campaigns as well. He had a significant role in defeating the NASCAR proposal. I don't know what to make of his chances.

James Weaver -- Weaver was often funny and had an edge in that he's been working in the county's Department of Community Development. He said he's been accomplishing a lot with limited resources, which he said could be the standard state of affairs for the county, especially when Silverdale incorporates. He's definitely got the land use experience, and based on his presence Thursday I saw nothing to suggest he wouldn't be a formidable candidate in 2008.

Chris Endresen was there and was praised throughout the night.

Port Commissioner Mary Ann Huntington has a challenger. Chris Henry writes that Martin Dilenno, a former live-aboard boat owner has decided to take on the incumbent.

"It's time," he said. "I just think the position needs a change from Mary Ann. She's been in there long enough."

DiIenno said he's aware of public displeasure with the increased port tax an addition of 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value established by the port's three commissiones last year to help pay for major improvements to the Bremerton Marina.

Saying he's aware of the public displeasure isn't exactly saying he agrees with the public. Dilenno does say the port commissioners should be more public about their plans. In case you don't remember or didn't see an increase on your tax bill this year, the port added a 45-cent-per-$1,000 assessment to pay for the Bremerton Marina upgrade project. It was done legally, but many people had no idea until the bill came.

The same could happen if Bremerton, Kitsap County or any city is quiet about its new ability to raise car tabs $20 a year to pay for road improvements. Bremerton has done a phone survey and has called for focus groups. The mayor plans to report the findings to the council sometime within the next few weeks.

County Commissioner Chris Endresen, who is leaving office to work for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, has been getting a lot of praise lately as she wraps up her final days for the county. I believe many of the local elected officials are truly fond of her and respect her for her knowledge and leadership.
At her last Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council meeting on Tuesday, Endresen said Kitsap County will be going through a tough period over the next couple of years. She recommended the book "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In"
by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury.
"We all serve the same citizens," she said. "If we all remember what we're trying to get done, it will make the job a lot easier."

Fellow members of KRCC provided her a certificate with personal written comments:

Bainbridge Island Mayor Darlene Kordonowy: "Smart, tough, funny... I will miss your leadership and working with you. My very best wishes."

Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade: "Chris, you have been an inspiration to me. KRCC's success depends on teamwork and cooperation — and a willingness to listen and seek common ground. You have exemplified that collaboration, and I will miss your thoughtful input to our discussions. I wish you success in your new position and look forward to working with you at this new level."

Port Orchard Mayor Kim Abel: "Commissioner Endresen will be missed for her no-nonsense solutions to issues while staying true to her constituents' wishes and hopes. She's a true leader."

County Commissioner Jan Angel: "Well, lady, we made history together being the first all-female Board of County Commissioners in the state of Washington. I wish you well in your new ventures."

Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman: "The Suquamish Tribe is proud of the service of Commissioner Chris Endresen. Chris' tireless efforts to improve county-tribal relations will go down in history as a great success. We greatly respect Commissioner Endresen's support of our tribal sovereignty, recognition of our government-to-government relationship and commitment to protecting our natural and cultural resources. We wish her the best of luck in her new public service role."

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Chairman Ron Charles: "Chris, over the years I watched with admiration as you worked in this sometimes difficult, even controversial, environment, but you showed much courage, wisdom and grace in getting the job done. We wish you well in your new job with Senator Cantwell."

Bremerton City Councilman Will Maupin: "Chris was a supporter of Bremerton long before it was a popular thing to do. If it were not for her leadership, Bremerton would not be where we are today, on the fast track to once again becoming a great city."

Bainbridge Island City Councilman Bill Knobloch: "Thank you for my having a pleasant experience working with you on KRCC. My learning curve working with this group was very collegial and interesting. Your leadership was evident at the onset, and I appreciated your allowing me to learn how politics at the county level work. After four years, I feel my early political experience will have a chapter devoted to my observations of how you maintained the success representing the best interests of the county. Thanks again and good luck."

I'm completely awful at random speculation, but why should you suffer? Take a chance and look at the list of the names of the 11 people who want to be county commissioner and calculate which three will make the cut on June 18.

We had 12 candidates and now we have 11 for county commissioner. I asked Carl Olson, chair of the county Democratic party, why you can get a dozen to apply for a position, but you'd never get that many to run for office. He said he couldn't speak for what motivates a candidate to run or apply. I'll have to call the 11 that are left.

I've covered some of these people in the last five years. The rest I've got to learn more about.

Lynn Nordby was city administrator for more than a decade. He was the city's first city administrator and became the subject of a council move to get him to quit/retire/get fired. Nordby had his defenders and the mayor resisted. He eventually agreed to retire about the same time he hit is 30-year mark of public employment.

Clarence Moriwaki worked for U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, and was one of the sources I'd talk to about the proposed memorial to Japanese residents on the island who were forced to leave to end up in concentration/internment/relocation camps.

Tom Nevins was one of the more vocal opponents of the speedway and is on the Kitsap County chapter's board of the Washington Conservation Voters.

So was Chris Van Dyk, who worked and strategized with legislators against the bill that would have funded the speedway's construction. I've heard people dismiss him, and state Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, wouldn't let him address the Ways & Means Committee, but he had an impact on the result.

I spoke with Alfonso Grajeda Monday. He goes by "Al." He's got a lot of government experience dealing with codes and buildings and the like in Yakima, Sunnyside, Winslow, Brier, King County and Port Orchard.

I spoke with Barbara Stephenson about the Port of Bremerton tax increase, but not about much else.

Stephen Bauer retired to Hansville, worked for the City of Portland, Ore. and after retiring did some work with the City of Bellevue and helping perform an organizational assessment of Kitsap County's Department of Community Development.

Robert Gelder is a fund director for the Martha & Mary Care Center.

James Weaver is a long-range planner for the county and according to anono-blogger 614 Division Street could become Port Orchard's chief planner if Lary Coppola gets elected mayor.

Dennis Sexton is, from what I hear, a carpenter active in the union.

We'll update this information as more becomes available.

Tonight's Democratic committee meeting was in the Machinists' Union Hall on Park Avenue and Ninth Street. As one committee member left early, I was waiting outside in the cool air. I asked her if anyone had been bumped off the list. She said she wasn't going to be a snitch. So I waited for the entire meeting to end to get the word from Olson.

Thursday's meeting in Poulsbo is supposed to give each candidate a chance to make a presentation to the 96 precinct committee officers. The applicants will then fill out a questionnaire to help the officers make a 1-2-3 selection on June 18.

Most people are assuming we won't have a problem getting Josh Brown and Jan Angel to agree on a replacement. If there is a problem, however, it could take up three months to get a final answer.

Twenty-four people showed up at the Kitsap County auditor’s office bright and early Monday to file for office in upcoming 2007 elections. Another candidate filed by mail.

Lary Coppola, who has already publicized his intention to run for Mayor of Port Orchard, is so far the lone candidate for this position. Incumbent Mayor Kim Abel announced April 3 that she will not seek reelection.

Incumbent Port of Bremerton Commissioner Mary Ann Huntington, who announced last week that she will seek re-election, is also unchallenged at this time.

But the week is young, and candidates have until 4:30 p.m. Friday to file. The auditor’s office will post updates on filings twice daily on the county’s home page, www.kitsapgov.com.

In other races, three incumbents have filed for positions on the Bremerton City Council. They are Cecil M. McConnell for District 2, Dianne P. Robinson for District 6 and Will Maupin for District 8. Trent England, a former legislative candidate, today announced his intention to run for Wendy Priest's seat on the council. Priest has said she won't run again.

In Port Orchard, two non-incumbents who have closely followed the City Council’s deliberations on a proposed downtown plan for economic development, have stepped up to file for seats on the council. Jerry Childs, who has headed a neighborhood association of residents concerned about future building heights that may be allowed by the plan, has filed for the at-large position currently held by Bob Geiger. Geiger has said he will not run again. Cindy Lucarelli, another neighborhood association leader, has filed for position 4, currently held by John Clauson. Clauson has not said whether he will run again.

Port Orchard City Council incumbents Robert Putaansuu, position 3, and Rick Wyatt, position 5, have filed for re-election in their respective positions. Wyatt had been considering a run for the mayor’s seat. He was not immediately available for comment.

In Poulsbo, Becky Erickson has filed for position 3 to challenge incumbent Jim Henry, who has filed to run for re-election. Incumbents Jeff McGinty and Connie Lord have filed for their current positions, 4 and 2 respectively.

Elections official Suzanne Boltz said it was a “sign of the times” that the Poulsbo candidates chose to carpool to the county administrative building in Port Orchard, apparently to save gas.

Check kitsapsun.com or the county's Web site for updates.

Here are the 12 who applied for county commissioner. I'll post more in a few moments. Earlier I indicated the Democrats would pick the final three tonight. I was incorrect. That won't happen until June 18. Tonight the executive board for the Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee will just look at the applications and determine whether the candidates have shown some citizen involvement, are qualified for the job and are "good Democrats." Here's your list.

Stephen Bauer
James Weaver
Clarence Moriwaki
Dennis Sexton
Rolla Boughan
Tom Nevins
Robert Gelder
Ed Stern
Chris Van Dyk
Barbara Stephenson
Alfonso Grajeda
Lynn Nordby

Monday's the day the Kitsap County Democratic party makes public its list of three candidates (I had it wrong. The county party won't weed it down to at least three until June 18. Tonight's the day we find out who applied, which we have posted.) for the soon-to-be-vacant county commissioner position. Chris Endresen, representing North Kitsap and Bainbridge Island since 1997, plans to go to work for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in late June.

Names that have surfaced include:

County Treasurer Barbara Stephenson
County PIO Clarence Moriwaki
Poulsbo City Councilman Ed Stern
Anti-public money for stadiums guy Chris Van Dyk
Kitsap County Planner James Weaver

On Lary Coppola's West Sound Politics blog he raises the name of Kitsap County Planning Commissioner Tom Nevins.

The Bainbridge Island Review reports former Bainbridge City Administrator Lynn Nordby and Martha and Mary fund director Robert Gelder threw their hats into the ring.

We'll keep you updated.

It was a largely a love fest last night when city and county officials had dinner with local legislators. Would the tone of the event have been different if the mix between Democrats and Republicans had been different? I'm not sure, but since County Commissioner Jan Angel was unable to attend, practically all the speakers were Democrats or at least nonpartisans.

About a dozen people from the general public, including folks from the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, showed up to keep an eye on the proceedings. It was a public event, though some people said they did not feel welcome, having to find chairs around the edges. Dinner reservations were all filled with official types. The "guests" were not part of the conversatoin, and most departed before the end of the dinner when the discussion broke into individual conversations.

It's all been done before and is designed to improve the working relationship among city and county officials and their legislators. In that sense, it is an event with a potential payoff for all county residents.

So here's a chance to start a political conversation, as this blog transitions to expanded topics of the day. Was the 2007 Legislative session all that it was cracked up to be for Kitsap County? What would have made it better? OK, if you still want to talk about how decisions regarding the NASCAR track drove the ultimate success or failure of the session, be my guest.

For the last 18 months or so this blog has been a place to discuss the pros and cons of what supporters and opponents called a potentially transformational project for Kitsap County, a NASCAR speedway.

It's time to talk about something else.

Here.

So to all you political types, consider yourself officially "On Notice."

I'll explain Stephen Colbert's presence in a moment. First let me tell you about the blog. This site will now be devoted to politics, focusing primarily on issues that involve or impact Kitsap County. At times we might engage in discussions of national issues. Even those, however, would likely have some impact here.

At the same time, we're not killing the "Tracking the Speedway" blog completely. Its history will remain. We're going to change the name and the address, but all the previous content will remain.

For the past five months the conversation about the speedway has been a political one as the NASCAR bill moved through the Legislature. In fact, I'd argue that most the content we had before could even be considered in a political context.

You had good arguments here. Bad ones too. We don't want to lose all that content or keep it alive on a blog that should no longer exist. So it's getting a new address and a new name.

Another reason to start this blog is that we've had political issues that didn't fit here because the board was so specific. Those issues either found their places on other blogs, or didn't get discussed here.

For example, in December we posted a video showing the difference between Randy Neatherlin's photo on his campaign ad and the one on a Democratic ad. Had we a political blog then, that entry would have ended up on that instead of on "The Bremerton Beat."

Every reporter on the Local News desk here will be able to add content. There will be overlap between the blogs. In fact, I'm sure we'll develop an understanding of where to address issues as time goes on. We'll learn by doing.

So over the next couple weeks, once the Web guys get everything settled with the redesigned Web site, we'll change the name and the address of this blog. Thank you for your contributions here and keep them coming.

In fact, we haven't decided on a name yet. We may settle for "Kitsap Politics," but we welcome your suggestions.

Regarding Mr. Colbert's presence, the "On Notice" board will be a regular feature here, as it was on "The Bremerton Beat."

"You're on notice" means "I'm watching you," not "You're dead to me," which is a different board. Send me your nominations for things or people you're getting a little suspicious of, or getting a little tired of, or you think isn't getting the attention it should. Feel free to duplicate other peoples' nominations. If something gets nominated a lot, it's more likely to get on the board.

Then again, this isn't scientific and is subject to the blogmaster's personal bias and sense of what's relevant and/or funny. The board will be updated as frequently as once a week.

As for this week's board, the first seven are all political references, and Tori Spelling is on there for grins. She may be dead to her mother, but she's only on notice here.