Daily Archives: May 21, 2009

New city government set to go ‘live’ next week

While it quickly became apparent on election night that voters don’t want a mayor in City Hall, it’ll likely take a week before the head office is passed to the new city manager.

According to City Attorney Paul McMurray, the transition to a council-manager government takes affect on June 3, when Tuesday’s election is certified by the Kitsap County Auditor.

Mayor Darlene Kordonowy, at that point, has the option of becoming a eighth City Council member until her mayoral term ends in January. The council would then revert to seven members.

Kordonowy is open to a seven-month council term.

“If there’s going to be a change, I want to continue to be apart of (the new government), and I’d be willing to serve,” she said on Tuesday, shortly after early election results showed the council-manager measure was passing by a wide margin.

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Island “soup kitchen” opens Saturday

A group of volunteers are planning to open a soup kitchen among the boutiques and art galleries of downtown Winslow.

“Because of the recession, I looked around and saw a lot of people suffering,” organizer Kim Hendrickson said in Rachel Pritchett’s recent article about the effort.

In a rare turn, this is a soup kitchen with a blog, bainbridgesoupkitchen.blogspot.com. Here’s snippet:

(The) soup kitchen is being held for its own sake (there is no underlying moral message, call to arms, or agenda) and it is meant to be inclusive. Islanders of all backgrounds and situations are invited. We hope to attract people of all conditions, since so many of us are joined, these days, in shared stress and uncertainty. The event reflects the organizers’ fondness for small scale, personal gestures and belief that food and music encourage friendly connections.

The soup’s on at 5 p.m. at 150 Madrone Lane on Saturday. The one-night event will feature musical performances until the kitchen closes at 7 p.m.

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Bainbridge council-manager discussion on NPR’s KUOW

Mayor Darlene Kordonowy and council-manager supporter Bob Fortner were on KUOW’s “Conversation” yesterday.

It was a short bit among other discussions about Iran’s missle tests and credit card debt. You can listen to the archived show here. The part about the council-manager issue begins about four and a half minutes in.

Kordonowy said criticism of her second term was part of the reason the measure passed.

“I can’t help but take things personal,” she said.

Kordonowy said she was disappointed in how well she was able to manage the city during “in difficult times.”

Fortner said voters passed the measure because the city’s government structure is “flawed,” giving the mayor too much power and concealing processes at City Hall that should be open.

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