Brynn Grimley writes:
Facing the start of his final year as County Commissioner, Josh
Brown has decided to give it a go for another four years.
The 28-year-old, (soon to be 29) was sworn into office at 25
years old amidst skepticism and doubt that he would be capable of
running a county with roughly 250,000 residents and an overall
budget of around $300 million.
When Brown took office Jan. 1, 2007 he became the youngest
commissioner to hold the post. He also was the youngest elected
official to sit on the various regional boards and commissions that
come with the job.
Now Brown is the senior county commissioner (Commissioner
Charlotte Garrido does have a prior stint under her belt), and as
of Jan. 1, 2010 he will be the senior elected official sitting on
regional boards like the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.
Other elected officials making up those boards were elected
after Brown took office.
But as the new kid on the block three years ago, Brown faced a
lot of criticism.
Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola was one critic who didn’t
sugarcoat his opinion in various blog posts on his personal Web site.
He has since changed his tune.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that I didn’t support Josh when
he ran for office the first time,” Coppola said. “I have to say
after working with him over the last two years, I have become a
supporter.”
At the time of Brown’s election Coppola was not yet mayor, but
as an outspoken business leader he shared his opinions about
Brown’s run for office — most of them negative — on his blog.
(Anyone interested in specifics can refer to the 2006 archive on
Coppola’s blog).
Now after seeing Brown in a leadership role, Coppola admits:
“He’s much smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“In the areas where I have worked with him, he has proven
himself,” he said. “I was skeptical of his abilities because of his
young age and his lack of experience in an elected office.
“I’m impressed with his ability to take on challenges and his
knowledge,” Coppola said. “He will have my full support,” in his
bid for reelection.
Long-time Silverdale resident and business owner Ron Ross was
also skeptical at first.
In fact, Ross’s son Robert Ross filed a lawsuit against Brown
just before he officially took office, questioning his residency.
(A judge ultimately ruled in favor of Brown after a trial in
February 2007).
Reflecting on commissioners that have held the post since the
1950s, Ron Ross believes Brown has “been one of the best
commissioners we’ve had in years and years.”
“He’s really, for his young age — forget his age. He’s been
exceptionally good,” Ross said.
Ross initially couldn’t fathom how a 25-year-old could lead the
county.
While there are still areas where he believes county government
as a whole can improve, Brown has easily proven himself as the best
person for the job in Central Kitsap, Ross said.
“I don’t know who is going to run against him,” he said, “but he
would be hard to beat.”
And what about that lawsuit? While he said his son Robert still
wonders about the residency status, he doesn’t have any major
complaints about Brown since taking office.
“I think my boy feels like Josh is a good commissioner,” he
said. “Josh has not offended my boy with any decisions he made and
I talk to him every day.”
Ross and his wife Nadean have also supported Brown’s efforts in
Central Kitsap through a donation of $1 million to the Silverdale
Haselwood Family YMCA.
Brown initiated the partnership between the county and the YMCA
group to build the facility at the proposed community campus in
Silverdale.
It’s that collaboration, between the county and its citizens
that Brown hopes to continue to build if reelected, he said.
“The next four years we’re going to see a lot of changes in our
county,” he said. “The role of the county is going to continue to
change. We need to find ways to communicate better with the public
about what’s happening.”
Carl Johnson, a longtime civic volunteer, said he supports
Brown’s run for reelection because of the job he has done since
taking office.
Johnson ran for the position of Central Kitsap Commissioner as
the Republican candidate in 1994 against Democrat Phil Best and
again in 1998 against Democrat Tim Botkin.
“I think despite his youth, he’s demonstrated a particularly
remarkable commitment and ability to work within the county
government and work with the players that he has to work with,”
Johnson said. “I think he has demonstrated a very non-partisan
approach to decision making.”
Proving himself to naysayers and gaining support across the
political aisle are just some of the ways Brown has tried to close
the partisan gap while in office, he said.
“I like the challenges,” Brown said. “For folks that maybe
thought I didn’t have the experience or the ability, I knew in my
heart that I did. And I’m a really hard worker.”
Brown’s election Web site is: www.electjoshbrown.com
