Charlotte Garrido, one of two Democrats vying for Jan Angel’s soon-to-be vacated seat on the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners, headed out to meet the people face-to-face this week, but without a meticulously crafted stump speech in hand.

Garrido began the first four of several “listening sessions” around South Kitsap, during which she plans to hold one-on-one conversations in a casual atmosphere to get information from the community on what it wants from a commissioner.

“As I started thinking about my committment to representation, I realized that there is a lot going on in the community that sometimes isn’t heard,” Garrido said.

The first session took place Thursday night at the Manchester Library. Before going to the session, Garrido said she did not have a schedule or agenda for the evening. She planned on going and letting the attendants guide the session.

“We’ll take a look and see what people want from me,” she said. “If they want me to come out and talk, I’ll do it.”

In the following weeks, Garrido will appear at the Olalla Grange, El Coral Restaurant and Harper Church. With most of those locations on the east side of Highway 16, she wants to schedule at least four more sessions on the other side.

She said starting out her campaign this way should lead into her work as a commissioner if elected.

“I think this would be a wonderful way for me as a campaigner to show what I can do as a commissioner,” Garrido said.

Local governments, she said, should be connected closely to its constituents.

“I feel strongly that because local government is closest to the people, it also needs to be the most accessible,” she said. “That closeness to the people is a really important thing to walk our talk on.”

For those unable to attend her events, she set up an online survey called “What’s important to you.”

The survey can be found at her Web site, www.charlottegarrido.com.