“The crowd was, depending on who you asked, somewhere between 300 people and 3,000. As de facto chroniclers of Sunday’s Take a Stand Against Hate rally, we’ll put participation at about 1,000 – an excellent turnout, of which Bainbridge Island should be proud. Perhaps the better measure came not through numbers, but rather volume. To the beat of ceremonial drums, marchers for unity and tolerance on this island set off from Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, heading down Winslow Way to make a loop around Town and Country Market and back past Waterfront Park. And as those at the head of the throng were turning onto distant Bjune Drive, those at the rear had yet to leave the church grounds.Winslow Way was literally filled with voices of peace and compassion – an excellent statement in and of itself.Almost immediately, though, we were reminded that one successful rally does not end the cause or complete the task. Monday, we learned that the son of a local public employee, an ethnic minority, was subjected last week to disparaging comments as he entered city hall, and was told that nobody who looks like you could have a parent working in the building.Sunday, we stood proud; Monday, that pride was tempered again with shame and dismay for our community. As one of the rally’s organizers observed, we may well catch those responsible for the latest round of vandalism and hate crimes; we hope so. But it’s the everyday acts of intolerance that go unreported that cause the real damage to lives.We have much yet to do.Election fareElection day(s) draw(s) nigh, evidenced by the appearance of the first round of endorsement letters in today’s edition. For the benefit of candidates and readers alike, here’s our schedule and a few ground rules.* Candidate profiles will continue over the next several issues, so every race with more than two candidates will be covered in advance of the Sept. 18 primary.* Primary election: Absentee ballots go out Aug. 29. The Review has no plans for a special supplement before the primary, so endorsement letters will be mixed in amongst the regular fare of reader comment, and will be printed through Sept. 12. Our own endorsements for the three contested races (two city council seats, and the fire board) will appear the first week of September.* General election: Absentee ballots should go out around Oct. 17. To help voters make up their minds, we’ll be running an election supplement with candidate profiles and a Q/A on the issues in the Oct. 10 edition. Endorsement letters will make up the balance of that section, with a final cutoff for such letters on Oct. 31; our own endorsements will appear in mid-October.As always, endorsement submissions by email are encouraged. Please keep endorsement letters in the 150-200 word range; a few longer ones will inevitably slip through, but if you’re too verbose or we have too many letters, we’ll cut with impunity.Now, let the rhetoric fly. “