Kudos to the Mason County Commissioners for announcing their intention to pull out of the Hood Canal Coordinating Council if their concerns are not resolved. Commissioner Ring-Erickson fears some of the practices of the Council are posing a threat to Mason County’s autonomy. Hello! She is so right!

As ad hoc organizations such as the Hood Canal Coordinating Council gather more power, mainly  through the lack of oversight by our elected officials, these organizations threaten not only the autonomy of the governments they are supposed to serve, they threaten the power of each and every voter in those jurisdictions. The life’s blood of these organizations is to usurp power from the elected officials and their constituents. Power coupled with funding from the state and feds makes these organizations a force to deal with.

Wisely, Mason County is drawing a line in the sand. I applaud you. Stay tough. Stay in charge. Perhaps a little bit of your wisdom will rub off on the elected officials supposedly serving our interest on the Puget Sound Partnership, Puget Sound Regional Coordinating Council and the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

As a taxpayer and voter, I am very concerned about the jurisdiction I live in losing autonomy to unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. Seldom is autonomy ever lost. It is given away by those we elect.

Vote wisely!

Vivian Henderson

Port Orchard