It’s not often that a newspaper doffs its cap to a competitor, but here goes: Bravo to the…Local Daily.

Okay, we can only go so far. But it is worth acknowl­edging that in a moment of clarity or courage, the island’s other newspaper, in judging the City Council race between Kim Brackett and Curt Winston concluded, in effect: “We don’t know.”

It’s an unusually candid admission, in a profession that carries the mantle (sometimes facade) of wisdom and all-knowingness, particularly where candidate endorsements are concerned. We’re supposed to be the font of insight for readers who may not have met the candidates themselves, or who pay only passing attention to the issues. But the truth is, we newspapers often don’t know – and at no time is this more so than when trying to vet candidates who boast no particular record in the public arena. And it seems like every election, they outnumber the ones with a clear community pedigree.

Sometimes, new faces acquit themselves quite well in office, and a council or board of commissioners thrives. Other times, voters get an elected official far different than the one they expected, and the council and community suffer for it. We won’t name names, but we can think of two endorsements from past races we’d really, really like to take back. But we did the best we could with what we knew at the time, and anyway, our views are hardly definitive; some voters were no doubt quite satisfied with what they got. So it goes.

At issue this time around is our caveat-heavy (one loyal reader described it as “tortured”) endorsement of Kim Brackett over Curt Winston for the Bainbridge Island City Council. Like our friends at the Local Daily, we found ourselves torn on this race; on another day, the endorsement might have gone the other way, or we too could have just thrown up our hands and said, “we don’t know.”

What we do know is that in multiple interviews before a panel of well-known community members, the candidates fielded questions on a range of current issues. We tried to suss out not just their knowledge and views, but their personal styles as well. Both candidates proved intelligent and well informed, and their differences on specific issues only accentuated the need for a balanced council that will bring many viewpoints into play.

Beyond that, as is too often the case, we had little direct knowledge to go on. First-hand, we’ve seen Brackett engage the park board in numbingly circular and endless debates over the proper process for considering artificial turf fields; points for passion, but definitely not for effectiveness. Winston, meanwhile, is remembered by some former council members and city officials for his heated outbursts at the council over grievances. Not a good recommendation, when seeking entry into a group that itself has struggled with decorum and finding common ground.

In the end, more members of our interview panel preferred Brackett, so we endorsed her, albeit with caveats. She is backed by a handful of islanders for whom city government has exactly one purpose – to impede change – and we hope she can broaden her base and embrace more moderate views.

We also believe the two best-qualified council candidates are running against each other: John Waldo and Bill Knobloch. We do know those gentlemen, and we’d like to have offered endorsements by which, come January, they would be serving on the council together. But we couldn’t.

How the others might ultimately acquit themselves in office, ask us again a year from now, or four. Until then, we admit it: we know far less than we wish we did, and have precious little wisdom to offer. Like the Local Daily, we talk to a lot of people, make the most educated recommendation we can, and then hold our breath.

Not unlike your average voter.