Commissioner Josh Brown Caught Red-Handed!
Back when I began my career in middle management, I remember reading the book “The One Minute Manager.’ Many of the principles contained in that little 100-page paperback have stayed with me down through the years, one in particular:
“Catch People Doing Something Right and Praise Them”
Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce President’s Luncheon at The Silverdale Beach Hotel. Chamber Executive Director Michael Broome and his capable staff have been doing an amazing job lately of generating tremendous excitement, support, and success for the Chamber organization.
Kitsap County Commissioner, Josh Brown, was the keynote speaker,
and he provided a brief overview of some of the projects he has
personally been involved in that directly impact Central
Kitsap.
So many times our elected officials are in a rather thankless situation and bear the brunt of endless criticism. Just for a change, I thought I would ‘catch’ Josh Brown red-handed, and praise him for doing something right!
As an avid crabbing enthusiast and boater, I am deeply indebted to Josh Brown’s dogged determination and efforts in saving the Olympic View Marina (formerly Seabeck) project from a near deathly demise. All of the environmental hoop-jumping is finally over, permits issued, and work is underway. The Kitsap County side of Hood Canal will at long last have a first-class protected harbor and full-service marina facility with mooring.
As a Silverdale WA
resident living on the west side of Hwy 3, the newly opened
Greaves Way offers much needed relief to the
congestion along Anderson Hill Road and allows easier access to
North Silverdale, Kitsap Mall, and Waaga Way. Additionally, it
opens up access to 400+ acres of prime commercial development area.
Josh Brown played in integral part in
getting this project funded and successfully completed, one of the
first major road expansions for Central Kitsap in over a
decade.
Lastly, Josh Brown has been instrumental in making the long-delayed vision of a Central Kitsap Community Campus a reality by partnering with the YMCA of Pierce & Kitsap Counties, and along with the very generous contributions of the Ross and Hasslewood Families.
In the upcoming election, Josh Brown deserves our support and our vote for another term of leadership to ensure the continued course of valued progress for the residents of Central Kitsap.
Josh recently voted to approve the PSRC’s Transportation 2040 which calls for tolling many existing roads in the area. Perhaps the Kitsap Sun can sit down with Josh and write a piece in which he explains why he voted to subject his constituents to such a massive tax increase.
I believe that Josh Brown has proven his worth as a Commissioner,even old nay sayers of the past(such as I) can see the improvement and concern he has for our County.
We can no longer label him as a young inexperianced person.He is a very well informed leader and has the most important quality needed.
He listens.
Well, I think that’s a first that a regular Kitsap Sun Blog contributor has plugged support for an individual Political candidate by way of central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown!
Now I don’t dispute what Mr Jacobson’s overview of Josh Brown’s achivements are both praiseworthy and deserved. But let’s remember that’s what he is there for to represent the taxpayers and he will stand or fall by how voters view his actions this fall.
What is odd is the timing of Mr Jacobson’s comments just when Josh Brown has been in the spot light in the Kitsap media and facing two challengers for his Commissioner seat! As with the comment from *Bluelight* Mr Brown has been free and easy spending Kitsap residents money with tax increases and hardly a champion of the free market Real Estate business which Mr Jacobson makes his living from!
I would hope that in fairness that the Kitsap Sun will extend the same coverage from another blog contributor for the support of Mr Brown’s challengers, Abby Burlingame and Wally Carlson?
He listens. You have got to be joking. The decisions are made in the back room, and Josh and his cronies put on a dog and pony show every other Monday evening for the public. Josh listens to those who have money.
A story in the Sun yesterday said Josh Brown was sick Tuesday and could not make the vote in which his Steve and Charlotte voted to guarantee two-million dollars for some startup company.
However, there is a picture of him with Dona Ross in the Friday, May 28, Central Kitsap Reporter, page 16. He was there on Tuesday for a photo op and road naming ceremony.
Surely Mr. Brown was not hiding from the two-million-dollar loan vote.
MightyBeaver: As stated above, this is a Kitsap Sun Reader blog.
“This blog is a Kitsap Sun reader blog. The Kitsap Sun neither edits nor previews reader blog posts. Their content is the sole creation and responsibility of the readers who produce them.”
The opinions I express here are completely my own. The timing of this article was inspired by the Silverdale Chamber luncheon I attended this past week. As a resident of Central Kitsap, many of the projects Mr. Brown has championed have resulted in direct benefits to me and my family.
I hope to have the opportunity of meeting both Ms. Burlingame and Mr. Carlson at some point in the near future, and share my thoughts/observations about them as well.
If another one of the Kitsap Sun Reader Bloggers want to give equal time to the other candidates, that would be great. The primary purpose of my blog is to generate meaningful dialog and constructive conversation among residents of Central Kitsap.
Being a community columnist or blogger is a very interesting position to have and operate in with the rest of the world of professional journalism and its many unspoken and sometimes antiquated rules swirling all around you. I know because I have had to make many of the same decisions Rich does about what I will write about in my column and what I won’t. As community columnist we get to do things the “reporters” don’t, but in some ways we are also more limited as well.
While I may not agree with Rich at all in any regards to Mr. Brown I fully support his personal decision to write about it. I had this conversation with my own editor several months ago right after I started getting published. Writing about politics is a decision that comes with a few rewards and many pitfalls as witnessed here. Once the door is open you run the risk as a columnist as being labeled for your politics and you can loose some of your large audience appeal. So far I choose not to open that door in my column and instead use other vehicles (such as the Kitsap Sun Blog) for my political endeavors. I must make my personal decision and Rich must make his.
It is rather petty to stop listening to him as a whole and some of the great things he has to say about our community just because you don’t agree with him on one or two issues. Not even my nine year old engages in that kind of behavior anymore.
Keep at it Rich, you are doing fine. I will keep reading and supporting your blog even when I don’t agree with everything you have to say.
Colleen Smidt
Colleen: Wonderfully stated! I so appreciate your regular comments and thoughts. As you say, we may not always agree with one another, but the respectful interaction allows us to see different perspectives and evaluate our own opinions/positions.
Rich, I am aware of the “reader blog agreement” and terms and conditions that you, Colleen and others write your blogs. I don’t have a problem either in who you write about and expressing your *personal* opinions, much again as stated by your colleague Colleen Smidt in her response.
However, your last paragraph in your blog in my view is not a reflection on your personal family benefits, but rather more of an “endorsement” for Josh Brown. Clearly suggest that Kitsap blog readers should vote for him. I realize that you are pleased with the saving of the Olympic view marina as you are a avid Hood canal crabber! But not everyone see Josh Brown in the same light!
Rich, I respect your opinion but like anyone who writes their views in public as a blogger, expect a reponse good or bad when you court political preference. Same applies to Colleen of course. Just my opinion.
MightyBeaver: I appreciate your viewpoints here. I’ve been blogging now for a number of years and know full well the spectrum of comments one can attract based on the expressed content. I welcome spirited dialog and debate here, as I do on any of my other blog platforms. I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinions. How boring would that be? I wonder if we’ve become so distrustful of elected officials in general that we automatically assume everyone is on the take, or as Jack says above, cuts deals in back rooms. You can’t blame people for their low tolerance of politicians these days. Personally, I think we’ve lost our sense of representational government. For the most part, the people in government are not in tune with their constituency. We feel we’ve lost our voice in matters that affects our daily lives. We can’t field decent candidates for office because no one in their right mind wants to put up with all the headache or can’t afford the expense of campaigning. But I digress….
Your comments are always welcome here!….
Hi- I base my comment about back room deals based on my personal experience with the KCBOC. We, the CCCCWB, filed a timely appeal on April 5, 2010. On April 6 we were told by the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s office that KCBOC were not going to hear land appeals anymore. On April 12 the KCBOC voted not to hear land appeals anymore.
How is that the County Prosecutor’s office knew a week before the vote that the KCBOC were not going to hear land appeals?
At this time I am not questioning you whether or not the land use appeal process was vested. But once again I ask you how was it that the outcome of the vote was known a week before the vote. Do you think it might make you wonder if this effected your home and family?
It’s offensive when people use these blogs to campaign or market.
fairandbalanced: Since when is it ‘offensive’ for someone to express their opinion? It might be somewhat questionable behavior if I myself were running for office and used this blog for my own personal political gain. But I am simply sharing my own experiences and opinions. Maybe I should just stick to local sporting events and apple pie recipes? Or would you find that offensive as well?
I wasn’t actually talking about you campaigning, but since you brought it up, are you campaigning for Josh Brown?
The big sell, whether it’s a political candidate or an idea or a product, there’s no place for it here. It insults people’s intelligence. Just give us the information, the facts and your opinions. We can do the rest.
I thought it was a nice post. It’s interesting to see what Commissioner Brown is up to, even if some people think it’s a photo op. I think the people of Central Kitsap should be very happy with this elected official.
fairandbalanced: no, I’m not ‘campaigning’ for Josh Brown. Again, simply expressing my own opinion. If you were to go back through my archive of previously published articles and uncover a habitual pattern of similar posts, then you might have some grounds for concern. Additionally, if I were employed by the Kitsap Sun and writing as a staff member, I would obviously need to maintain some measure of neutrality. As stated previously, I am hoping to meet the other two candidates who are running against Josh Brown in the near future, and will share my thoughts and observations about them as well.
Hi Rich, Moral to the story here is leave hot political issues to one side during election year!! Josh Brown and Democrats will thank you, everyone else will know on who’s mast you’ve nailed your colors!!
Play safe and deal with topics at your heart, Crabbing, clam digging, boating etc and any issue in central Kitsap that don’t involve a candidate seeking re-election! Just a thought! Last I will say on the subject. Happy crabbing!