The common occurrence of bloggers/activists calling out public officials is not exclusive to Bainbridge Island, though our small-town tenor may cause targets of such criticisms to take the barbs more personal than when it happens in Seattle, for example.

It’s understandable for a diligent, dedicated city employee to get upset after being raked online by one or more of the island’s many active bloggers, most of whom consider themselves important watchdogs simply because they are of the opinion that most government bodies warrant close scrutiny these days.

There’s no denying that the exits of some members of the city administration and council during the last two or three years were at least somewhat prompted by the fact that the old word-of-mouth way of displaying disgruntlement has been replaced by Internet posts that are widely distributed. Public Works managers Randy Witt and Bob Earl (see page A9), for example, were favorite targets before deciding to move on.

This week, a city employee posted this missive in response to a blogger’s comments about a city issue: “He wouldn’t know reality if it walked up and introduced itself.” When the activist complained, City Manager Mark Dombroski emailed that the employee was admonished for acting against city handbook policy, saying that the message “was not one I condone and is not in keeping with my desire to improve trust and respect between and among the community and staff.”

Obviously, some of our more persistent activists are considered by some city employees and council members to be time-consuming distractions that stop them from doing their job. In essence, however, the dozen or so islanders who are most involved in questioning the city’s policies and actions are simply exercising their civil rights, whether they are blogging, speaking at a public meeting or requesting public records.

The gist of the objections held by city staff/officials against some of the island’s more active bloggers is the belief that too many of the communications are not factual, or conclusions have been drawn from incomplete information, Undoubtedly, politics are often involved, but the city needs to be open to other opinions and ideas even when they are political by nature. The previous regime leaned more toward shutting out people who questioned the city’s policies and actions, especially when they involved finances, planning and capital projects.

As mayor, Darlene Kordonowy’s preference was to answer complaints she considered worthy of acknowledging with a press release. Generally, it was a bunker mentality and if a citizen or group’s political views were different, then they were often discounted or ignored.

This reaction to attempts by community members to have their opinions heard prompted some of them to eventually turn to the ballot box, which, of course, is the democratic way to ensure that our government is listening.

Dombroski, operating under the council-manager system, prefers to be the city’s voice on nonpolicy issues. That’s his prerogative, and he has been receptive to activists’ queries and seems determined to reset the staff’s reactions to community input.

It’s encouraging that there is now genuine online dialogue occurring between community members, Dombroski and most members of the current city council. Most of the cyber-debates are being done civilly and respectfully.

So, there is value here, especially when the substance of the conversations is positive, not detrimental. The future of open communications between the two sides will depend on that.