Who cares what someone in Poulsbo thinks?

Or Silverdale? Port Orchard?

We should, and until further notice, we do.

Elsewhere on this page, readers will find a selection of letters to the editor from our brethren (and “sistren”) from the peninsula, all commenting on the proposed Kitsap County charter. And we expect to run a few more – with or without the droll references to “The Republic of Bainbridge” we sometimes get – before the charter issue is decided at the polls Feb. 5 (absentee ballots, it should be noted, will go out around Jan. 15).

As one can see from the letters at right, the charter is

provoking some strong views among our neighbors across the bridge. Why the fuss?

Drafted over the course of a year by an elected, 21-member board of freeholders, the charter is in effect a new “constitution” that would drastically reorganize Kitsap County government. The county would be parsed from the current three commission districts into five, with voting for the new “county council” positions by district only; a countywide executive position would be created, with veto power over the council’s decisions; voters would have the power of initiative and referendum; and all elected offices except the prosecutor would become non-partisan, while the coroner would become an appointed position.

We’ve commented on the charter at several points; while we favor some of the proposed changes, we remain concerned about the document’s disenfranchising effects – today, you vote for all three commissioners on the three-person county board; under charter government, you would vote for just one of five. But more on that in a bit.

We islanders tend to spend more time looking east than west, but this is a dynamic time for Kitsap County – our county – and a useful one to reappraise our connections. Consider Bremerton, where county officials and other agencies are coming together to resuscitate a city too long down-at-heel. The Public Facilities District recently authorized the use of nearly

$7 million in sales-tax rebate funds for construction of a 15,000-square-foot conference center in the downtown core, funding needed to get the $18 million project off the ground. Privately financed lodging and retail space are expected to follow, while two county commissioners stand firmly behind a new government center there that would boost revitalization.

We believe this type of effort will benefit Bainbridge, relieving growth pressures by making another corner of the county more attractive to new residents. And at the hub of planning and policy-making – economic development and land use decisions that affect us all – is the Kitsap County Courthouse. Even if you disagree, remember that 17 percent of islanders’ property tax bill last year went to county programs, including the courts – more than to our own city. Clearly, we have an interest in Kitsap affairs, whether we generally express it or not.

So, to the charter: We’re still leaning “No” – we’re not convinced it’s the best means to “better government” – but voters should consider the arguments for and against. A public forum is slated for 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Bainbridge High School theater; the event will be sponsored by the Kitsap League of Women Voters, with islander Nancy Quitslund moderating.

Where issues of taxation and representation are concerned, no island is an island. It’s our county, too.