Letters to the editor

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 3, 2026

Budget survey flaws

To the editor:

The City of Bainbridge Island is asking residents to complete an online survey to help guide priorities for its approximately $85 million budget. Public participation is important, but this survey has significant flaws.

Anyone can participate, even if they do not live on Bainbridge Island. The survey also does not prevent the same person from responding multiple times. That makes it impossible to know whether the results reflect the views of Bainbridge residents.

It also asks what people want funded, but never what they are willing to reduce or eliminate. Every budget requires tradeoffs. Asking only what people want provides little guidance for setting priorities.

Online surveys can generate ideas, but they should not be treated as reliable measures of public opinion. City Council should recognize these limitations when making decisions affecting millions of taxpayer dollars.

Joe Oliver

Bainbridge Island

The right to live where you work

To the editor:

A healthy, sustainable community requires more than just scenic views and polite trail greetings; it requires a place for everyone to live, not just people who make big profits.

We all have a right to live in this community. Unfortunately, the island is increasingly treating itself like a gated resort, driven by an unreasonable “not in my backyard” policy where working-class families are only permitted to visit during their shifts. Forcing our workforce into long commutes from across the bridge or the Sound is economically and socially unsustainable.

When we use zoning laws and environmental stall tactics to block denser housing near the town core, we are actively excluding the very people who are the backbone of this community—the same community my in-laws and wife, Jennifer, have thrived in. People have a fundamental right to live where they work. True environmental and social stewardship means welcoming growth, updating our zoning, and ensuring that young families and local workers can afford to call Bainbridge home.

We must move past defensive gatekeeping and actively support real housing solutions. Bainbridge is a community, not a resort. It is not a place for a select few to live, but a place for everyone.

Justin Maxwell

Bainbridge Island

Personal councilmember attacks

To the editor:

I was deeply disturbed by the vicious personal attacks against individual councilmembers made by people attending Tuesday’s council meeting.

Calling Mike Nelson ‘MAGA Mike,’ who is stirring up the manosphere, was both inaccurate and unacceptable demonizing. Suggesting that Laura (Lant) and Mike don’t know what they are doing because they are new is inaccurate. Turning policy differences into personal vendettas solves nothing.

For those who are focused on attack and blaming, voters don’t like seeing this kind of behavior and will vote accordingly next year.

I am grateful to Mike and Laura, who are doing an excellent job of representing their constituents, despite the harassment.

Ellen Lockert

Bainbridge Island