Transportation, vet affairs dominate forum

Published 5:00 am Saturday, October 14, 2006

Challengers for House seats, the county commission offer their views.

Transportation issues steered discussion at a Tuesday candidate forum held at the island’s American Legion hall.

Candidates for 23rd Legislative District House seats and the Kitsap County Commission stressed the necessity of affordable, far-reaching bus and ferry services.

“We need to look very closely at how our transportation dollars are spent, particularly here,” said Christine Rolfes, a Bainbridge Democrat hoping to unseat Rep. Beverly Woods.

Rolfes, a former Bainbridge city councilwoman, cited a Washington State Department of Transportation study that showed Kitsap residents are getting back just 67 cents on each tax dollar collected for transportation services. By contrast, the Puget Sound region as a whole earns about $1.33 on each dollar spent.

At the same time, Rolfes said, islanders and county residents have shouldered substantial ferry fare increases.

“We already pay tolls at the fare box…and ferry fare increases of over 60 percent over the last six years,” she said.

Other speakers at the forum included island Republican Earl Johnson, who is running against Rep. Sherry Appleton, and county commission candidates Jack Hamilton and Josh Brown.

Appleton and Woods, who are defending their House seats, did not attend. Sponsored by the American Legion’s Colin Hyde post, the forum’s 50 attendees included many local veterans.

Johnson, who serves as a Bainbridge Island Fire Commissioner, said he’d tackle the “morass of the Department of Transportation and Washington State Ferries” if elected in November.

“Kitsap County is getting the short shrift,” he said, pledging to promote performance audits for transportation services and other state government agencies.

Johnson said WSF has become an unwelcome neighbor for many islanders.

“Ever water ski in Eagle Harbor?” he asked the crowd. “Most choose not to do that anymore. (WSF) has been pouring pollution in the harbor over the past few years. That’s unacceptable. If they were private property owners, and not the state, they’d likely be facing charges.”

Johnson also expressed dissatisfaction with what he called the DOT’s “mismanagement” of highway upgrades in the Poulsbo area and for not improving the safety of crosswalks along the Winslow stretch of State Route 305.

According to Rolfes, many of the region’s transportation challenges stem from the elected body in which she hopes to serve.

On the ferry fare increases, Rolfes said “the Legislature is responsible for that, not the DOT.”

Rolfes also called for highway improvements, including new traffic lights along the island’s portion of 305 and intersection upgrades near the Clearwater Casino in Suquamish. Additional passenger ferries at Kingston and Bremerton should also receive greater state support, she added.

Hamilton, a Central Kitsap Republican who ousted Com­missioner Patty Lent in the September primary election, said transportation – especially roads – are a vital component to the area’s economic vitality.

“Silverdale is the regional retail center of the county,” he said. “Without auto traffic in to and out (of Silverdale), sales tax will dry up.”

Hamilton, a former ship construction manager, estimated that about 75 percent of Kitsap County residents live in rural areas, making well-maintained roads a key concern for the commission.

But over the last 20 years the county has not seen “a single lane of (new) highway. We spent all that road tax money but haven’t built any new roads,” he said.

Brown, the Democrat facing Hamilton, disagreed with his opponent’s characterization of the county and its transportation needs.

“We’d like to think of (the county) as a rural area,” the Bremerton resident said. “But it’s the second most densely populated county in Washington state. We need to deal with that reality.”

Brown promoted Kitsap Transit’s role in the county while calling for additional shuttle buses for seniors and disabled residents.

He said his party affiliation and broad base of support from local public officials would aid him in working with the state and cities to solve the area’s transportation problems.

“We need to ensure Kitsap County gets it’s fair share,” he said, citing endorsements from the county’s four mayors.

The forum also touched upon education and veteran’s issues.

Rolfes repeatedly drove home her commitment to reducing class sizes in public schools and boosting pay for teachers.

Johnson commended the island’s public school system but stressed that many schools in the state don’t fare as well.

“That’s where the playing field needs to be leveled across the board,” he said.

Prompted by questions from the audience, all candidates cited their personal or family connections to military service and their reverence for veterans.

Rolfes’ father served in the Korean War, Johnson’s father was stationed in Alaska during World War II and Brown’s brother fought as a U.S. Marine in the Persian Gulf War. Hamilton, a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, echoed the other candidates with a pledge to support veterans while serving in public office.

“Taking care of veterans is the only proper thing to do, since they took care of us first,” he said.