To the editor:

Re: the current brouhaha over the city’s new logo (i.e.: brand). I absolutely cannot understand why “city officials” (who are faceless to me, but am assured are flesh and blood and really do exist) always seems so prone to run out and hire outside consultants.

Is it because of that old saying: An expert is somebody from out of town with slides? Or is it because they for sure want somebody to blame if things don’t work out? (It wasn’t me and it wasn’t thee, it was that other guy behind that tree.)

Here we are, an island full of prize-winning authors, artists, poets, sculptors, commercial artists, advertising executives, and all manner and ilk of creative types. An island practically sinking from all its homegrown talent, and they have to go 3,500 miles to hire some so-called “experts” to design a logo. A firm not only having no knowledge or understanding of Bainbridge Island — either culturally, historically, socially, educationally, economically, genetically, geologically, or geographically — but in the heart of the Confederacy, yet. I’m surprised they didn’t try to incorporate the bars and stars in their design. Does one of the City Fathers have a shirttail relative back there, or something? My wife’s uncle Luke’s son needs a job type of thing?

Laying aside the obvious question of why a logo and motto are important things to have in the first place, an observation: If the city had offered a $1,000 prize to our local high school students to come up with a design, I absolutely, positively, and without a moment’s hesitation guarantee two things:

First, we would have something far better and much more appropriate, and, number two, it would have saved $21,000. A win-win, if there ever was one.

TED S. FROST

Arrow Point

P.S.: I have resisted the impulse to be harsher ridiculing and making fun of our esteemed “city officials,” since its way too shooting-fish-in-a-barrel easy. And I recognize they have thankless jobs that, Lord a’ mighty, I sure wouldn’t want to have.