After winning a 2014 election for District 3’s Kitsap County commissioner’s seat by a small margin, Ed Wolfe is now running for re-election unopposed. He says it’s the first time the seat has been uncontested in over 30 years.
“I ran on a platform of bringing balance back to county government. The county is in the black, and it’s balanced. We also have a responsible budget,” he said of his first term.
For his second term, Wolfe said, he’ll be working on balancing Kitsap County’s explosive growth with concerns over affordable housing.
“One of the challenges for the next four years is managing growth in Kitsap County,” he said. “Ways to manage affordable housing include reducing our regulatory burden, not just on the local building developers but also for single-family residences.”
He said part of the reason for a housing shortage is that land isn’t as readily available. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, Wolfe said.
“The open space here and the miles of coastline is what brought me and my wife over here, and it’s just getting better and better. But, we’ve got to manage that. I don’t want this to be another King County or Bellevue, and so we have to manage it and continue enjoying it.”
Looking into his next term, Wolfe said one major policy to look out for is the effort to incorporate Silverdale. The topic has come up before, and Wolfe says he will be heavily involved in the conversation.
“I think we need to plan now during these good times for the next generation of leaders and citizens toward incorporation. I think incorporation is inevitable. So, we need to look at what’s best for Silverdale, of course, but also how does this affect the rest of the county?”
Wolfe said he and his colleagues are committed to providing data and information to any study that looks into incorporation.
While speaking about his first term, Wolfe said some of the projects of which he was proud included the $23 million Bucklin Hill Bridge, one of the largest public works projects in county history. It increased traffic capacity over Clear Creek while improving fish migration.
He also said breaking ground on the VA hospital that will serve four counties was a major accomplishment.
“All of our veterans here that need treatment, it takes them four or five hours to get there by bus. We’re now going to have our own center here,” he said.
Wolfe said he also led the charge in securing a $220 million bond for Central Kitsap schools.
Constituents will have the opportunity to vote for the District 3 commissioner’s seat when primary ballots are mailed out on July 20. The primary ends Aug. 7. The general election takes place Nov. 6.
