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.

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:

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.

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.

In the meantime, it seems like you folks would be interested that candidates for local office can begin filing June 4. Chris Henry will have a story about it Sunday.

Although this is an off election year -- no presidential, legislative or judicial races, at least in Kitsap County -- several local races are already drawing attention. Among the most high profile contests, City of Port Orchard residents will decide who will replace outgoing Mayor Kim Abel, who has decided not to seek a second term, and long-time Port of Bremerton Commissioner Mary Ann Huntington will defend her seat following a large port levy hike in 2007.