The man behind the camera says it’s time to become part of the production.

Christopher “Kit” Spier, who has filmed virtually every city council meeting for Bainbridge Island Broadcasting since 1997, will seek the at-large council seat presently held by Michael Pollock, who has said that he tentatively plans to seek re-election.

“I’m the most informed person on Bainbridge Island, other than maybe the members themselves, on the operations of the City Council,” said Spier. “I’ve missed only two meetings since 1997, and because I review them before they go on the air, I’m the only person who has watched all those meetings twice.”

What motivates him to run is the tension between the mayor’s office and the council.

“My sole objective is to see if we can smooth that out,” Spier said. “If nothing else, it’s quite destructive of morale among city employees.”

Spier thinks the tension comes from a combination of poorly defined roles and overly rigid agendas.

“I don’t think we have a clear definition of the functions of the executive department,” he said. “And I think some people came onto the council with what, to their minds, was a mission.

“The danger of a preconceived agenda is that people can become so obsessed with it they can no longer listen to the other side and make fair judgments.”

Spier said his career in the high-pressure and sometimes ego-driven world of television production prepared him for the necessary give-and-take of government, as did his 25 years as commissioner of the sewer district that serves Fort Ward.

“We dealt with some pretty contentious issues, of the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Ecology saying we had to do something about a sewer system and people in the community not wanting to do it,” he said.

“You learn to compromise, which is the essence of politics. You get part of what you want, but rarely all of it.”

Spier says he’s “not an enthusiast” about the Comprehensive Plan’s mandate that half the island’s growth go into Winslow, and half outside, because he says it is leading to “urban sprawl” on both fronts – the expansion of higher-density areas beyond the Winslow core, and the expansion of low-density development elsewhere.

Spier advocates what he calls “village” development – clusters of higher-density living, where most services are provided within walking distance of those clusters.

“The best way to encourage non-motorized transportation is to have things close enough to walk or bicycle to,” he said.

He cited Fort Ward, where he and his wife Pat lived for decades before moving to their present home on Broomgerrie Road.

“We’ve had 200 percent development there in the last 10 years, and have created a village, but it’s two miles to the nearest store. If I need a loaf of bread, I have to get into the car to get it, and that means somebody has to maintain the road,” he said.

Parks are another amenity that ought to be within walking distance of everyone, Spier said.

“I shouldn’t have to get in the car to take the kids out to play catch,” he said.

Spier said Lynwood Center is beginning to function as the kind of village he envisions, and believes the other neighborhood service centers of Rolling Bay and Island Center could do likewise.

He also said the island needs to get over its phobia about sewers, but believes that will be forced on the community in any event.

“It’s only a matter of time before the EPA or the state (Department of Ecology) marches in here and tells us that we’ve got to get shoreline homes off septic,” he said.

Hooking up homes on the north and east sides of the island to sewers would be tremendously expensive, Spier said, if the only options are the treatment plants in Winslow and Fort Ward, which are permitted to discharge treated water into Puget Sound.

In that case, he said, the sewer area may have to be expanded inland simply to spread the cost over enough residences to make it feasible.

Spier has a bachelor’s degree in theater management from the University of Washington, and took an intensive Spanish course at a university in Venezuela while he was a broadcast consultant for NBC in that South American country.

He spent over 20 years in commercial television as a producer and general manager in Seattle and California, picking up two Emmy awards along the way.

He also spent 13 years working as a manager in motion picture and television production and video conferencing for Boeing.

For the last 20 years, Spier has owned a video production company, which he would continue if elected, “but I won’t be doing any more business with the city.”

Spier, a World War II combat veteran, said his only misgiving about running is his age.

“I would have been a better council member 10 years ago,” he said, “and I am concerned that a council of all retired people is not representative.

“But with the time it requires, I really don’t see any alternatives.”