The ballots are coming, the ballots are coming!

On Friday, Oct. 18, the Kitsap County Auditors office will be mailing out ballots for the Nov. 5 election to all registered voters in Kitsap County.

The Kitsap County Auditor page, www.kitsapgov.com/aud/elections.htm is a valuable resource for information on races, candidates and issues that will be up for a vote.

The citizens of Bremerton are facing quite a number of choices for elected positions as well as Proposition 1 which has to do with city council meeting locations and adjustments to the language of the Charter to reflect the coming council reduction from 9 members to 7 members.

Voters need to be sure that they read the arguments both for and against this measure.

These arguements were constructed by groups of citizens as a service to their community.

I was a part of this effort as a member of the committee for the measure and had a fun time working on it.

I have great respect for the members of the committee against the measure and have worked with those members often on common ground Bremerton city issues that concern us all.

Please take the time to consider and read all of our efforts on this important issue.

Local government is what we make of it. A portion of the process that “makes it” includes educated voting by the citizens regarding the ability of the available candidates to do the job in question.

This is not a popularity contest about who looks good or sounds fun.

Instead, it is about what can and should be done to improve the city of Bremerton as a whole and not just individual fiefdoms or padding public service resumes for future office aspirations.

If local government fails us, then we have failed ourselves with our lack of attention, focus and participation.

Take the time this week to improve your attention to the candidates.

Focus on the issues and participation in following what goes on in the city in which you reside.

Watch for your ballot in the mail. Take the time to complete it with the attention it deserves.

Whether you live in Bremerton and have school board candidates, city council candidates and mayorial candidates to vote for, or whether you are in Central Kitsap and have local school board races to study, do so and vote after you educate yourself about the candiates and their positions.

Do your part to move Bremerton and Kitsap County forward with a well-represented, high percentage voter turnout in the coming general election.

Colleen Smidt is a longtime resident of Bremerton and writes weekly about political and community matters in Bremerton.