Here’s gratitude for those who seldom receive it

Gratitude is what I want to express to our electeds, plain and simple gratitude and respect for their hard work, commitment to the responsibilities they shouldered, and the dedication to their goal of creating a better community.

Frankly, I get tired of the blogs and the put-downs directed at our electeds.

Of particular disappointment are the words of new City Council candidates who denigrate and criticize our hard-working council, blaming years of poor city management on them.

To anyone running for council who is insulting the incumbents – you do not have my vote.

Our city was floundering on rocks of financial mismanagement and about to splinter into smithereens when the community overwhelming voted for a change in the form of government, in a sense, for a new captain and crew.

Our new council has labored long and hard to float our ship and veer it away from destruction. And slowly, slowly they are succeeding.

No matter that I may disagree with some of the votes of individual council members, they have done a fantastic job this past year to recover our community from the brink of disaster.

So, I feel gratitude to you and I thank you for the time spent in meetings, the time away from your families, the efforts you made to understand problems and fix them, your work to push through inherited problems like Winslow Way, the patience you showed when you were criticized and even called liars by members of the public.

I particularly want to thank Bill Knobloch and Kim Brackett as they leave the council.

And kudos for ongoing council member and mayor, Kirsten Hytopoulos, for her leadership, exceptional clarity of thinking, and fair and open-minded approach.

And while I am at it, thank you to outgoing Sen. Phil Rockefeller for your intelligence and thoughtful work on our behalf.

Kudos to Rep. Christine Rolfes for being an outstanding legislative leader who works in a non-partisan manner to create legislation to protect and serve our state.

And to Rep. Sherry Appleton for her dogged dedication to her constituents and her work for social services.

Wouldn’t it be something if the rash of blog comments that no doubt will tag onto this letter were in appreciation of these individuals who have given untold hours in public service to our community.

Let’s just simply thank them for their gift of time and energy.

Linda Owens

Bainbridge Island