Darlene Kordonowy and a levy to save Bainbridge open space rode overwhelming voter support to victory Tuesday.
Kordonowy earned better than 63 percent against Chris Llewellyn in the race to succeed Dwight Sutton as the next mayor of Bainbridge Island.
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On a state and national level, it is generally conceded that money is indispensable to a successful political campaign – a badly outspent candidate seldom wins.
If that also holds true for Bainbridge Island, then you’d put your bets on Darlene Kordonowy for mayor and Bill Nelson for the central ward city council seat, because both have far outspent and out-fundraised the opposition.
But observers of the Bainbridge Island political scene say the personal touch may still be more important than a media campaign.
“A big part of the campaign on Bainbridge Island is vouching,” said David Harrison, a political science faculty member at the University of Washington and an adviser to Sen. Maria Cantwell, who has run for both school board and the state legislature.
“People who get behind a candidate and spread the word to their friends can be tremendously important.”
According to statements filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission, Kordonowy has raised some $24,500, compared to the $8,400 raised by her opponent, Chris Llewellyn.
In late spring of 2001, after one year in the district, special services director Merle Montani quit abruptly, citing the need to finish her dissertation.
Without time to conduct a national search for a new director – and aware of the shortage of special education personnel nationwide – the district hired the principal of Woodward Middle School, Clayton Mork.
Mork, who calls himself “a systems guy,” continued the assessment of special education programs begun with last spring’s roundtable discussion.
Fairy Queen Titania strokes Nick Bottom’s long ears.
The fairy queen is impelled by a magic spell cast by her rival Oberon to love the first being she sees upon awakening. So Titania has fallen for the ludicrous combination of donkey and man – as she has for more than 400 years, to the universal delight of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” audiences.
For most of us, the ferries are a part of the island’s charm. Those of us who don’t commute can still find the ride something of an adventure, particularly on those sunny days when the view ranks with any panorama on the planet. For commuters, the ride can be an extension of the office for work, the living room for visiting or the library for quiet reading.
Willow DaNaan’s art prints – on view at Cafe Madison for the “Holiday Island Magic” Arts Walk Nov 4 – are images of the supernatural crafted with technical wizardry.
This artist’s computer-generated prints feature three-dimensional fairies in Maxfield Parrish-like idealized landscapes.
The bad news is that the economic fallout from the September terrorist attacks definitely reached Bainbridge Island.
The good news is that for the most part, the effect seem to be dissipating.
“There was literally nothing for a few days,” said Sally Loomis of Loomis Travel. “We were busy refunding and reaccomodating people.”
State ferries may become floating advertising kiosks to keep the boats afloat.
But they won’t be floating billboards — external advertising visible from the shores is not in the cards.
“We are accepting information from companies, organizations and individuals about advertising, and asking for their best estimates on how much revenue some or all of their programs could raise,” said Washington State Ferries public affairs Director Pat Patterson.
Simon Chrisman calls the hammer dulcimer he plays for the First Fridays audience Nov. 2 a “piano without the keys.”
The description is apt.
The dulcimer is like a piano without a lid – the strings running parallel to the sounding board, the felts controlled with a foot pedal – but the indirect action of the keys is short-circuited by putting the felt hammers in the musician’s hands.
As a matter of law, Bainbridge Island is a city. As a matter of fact, though, much of it looks like countryside, with farms, fields and forests dominating much of the landscape outside of Winslow.
But like every place else, the island is growing, and no matter how we plan our growth, some of it will inevitably push into those presently empty spaces.
Call it the dream of fields.
And woods. And perhaps a little shoreline as well.
The desire to preserve the island’s natural features and farms underpins the $8 million open space bond levy that goes before voters Nov. 6.
The campaign got an unexpected push last week, when the city came to terms with Akio Suyematsu for public purchase of his 15-acre working farm on Day Road East.
Maggie Mackey still attends Bainbridge High School, even though she graduated last spring.
Like other students with multiple disabilities, Maggie qualifies for public education until she is 21, under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“In our house we call it ‘post-graduate work,’” said Sheri Ley-Mackey, Maggie’s mother.
The Review’s endorsements for contested seats and ballot issues in the Nov. 6 general election:
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