The human mind is a tricky thing.

It tries to make sense of a complex and random world by seeing patterns where they don’t exist, or tries to assemble shapes from amorphous images.

Even so, the results of the 2017 election has us attempting to connect dots that certainly seem to be in alignment.

Here on Bainbridge, the election resulted in a trio of newcomers joining the city council. Once again, the seven-member council will have a new majority, the third time in a row over the past three municipal election cycles.

Some turnover was expected, of course, given that Councilman Roger Townsend and Councilman Val Tollefson did not seek a second term.

But given Councilman Wayne Roth’s attempt at re-election, a wholesale change wasn’t guaranteed.

Still, it happened.

Should we be surprised, however, that a sitting council member — by all accounts informed, engaged, considerate and responsive — was not returned to office? Not really.

Although this council has had its accomplishments, most notably an updated Comprehensive Plan, its scattered good deeds have been overshadowed by significant stumbles over the past few years.

The foot-dragging on getting a new police station built, and the escalating cost of a new facility, is one. The city has not been able to effectively rebound from its poor first steps on the new public safety facility, from passing up a prime opportunity to co-locate with the fire department, to subsequent disastrous decisions on where to locate the new police station.

The destruction of the forested corridor along Highway 305 for the construction of a bike trail is another. And more recently, the ill-advised attempt to build a pedestrian/biking bridge across Highway 305 that critics have rightfully named the “Bridge to Nowhere.”

One thing that hasn’t changed from the previous council election was reflected in the results of a recent city survey, and it served as a harbinger of this week’s election.

Islanders’ views on the direction of city governance has fallen to an overall positive rating of 41 percent. Even worse, just 35 percent of respondents had a positive response when asked about their confidence in city government. That number remained unchanged from 2015.

Those who have been elected to the council this week have promised to restore trust in local government. It’s clear that they — and the returning members of the council — have much work to do.