Experience, either in office or as a regular candidate, a factor in NK commissioner's race

A longtime state legislator and incumbent county commissioner faces a former school board member and frequent candidate for state and local office in a Kitsap County commissioner race that doesn't lack for local experience.

Current Kitsap County commissioner Christine Rolfes, a Democrat appointed to the District 1 position after the 2023 resignation of Rob Gelder, advanced through the August primary without opposition on the ballot. But due to an election law that allows a write-in candidate to advance from a primary race if they achieve 1 percent of the vote and are among the top two choices, in November's general election Rolfes will have a challenger in Scott Henden, a Kingston resident who's running as an independent for the commissioner role representing the north end of the county and Bainbridge Island.

In the August primary, when only Rolfes' name was on the ballot, she received 95% of votes, or about 24,479, compared to the 1,174 voters who wrote Henden's name.

Rolfes, who chaired the state Senate's powerful Ways and Means Committee for five years during her 17 years as a state legislator representing the 23rd District, bases her campaign on experience with local issues and deep connections that can benefit Kitsap at the state level. She said her time writing the state's budget gives her an insight into spending and organizational relationships and cites work as a senator on educational and environmental issues at the state level that impact Kitsap County. She said there was no commitment to run for election after her appointment to the commission last year, but since then the role has felt like a good fit.

"You can't say you hit the ground running, because it's like drinking out of a fire hose for three to four months," Rolfes said in an interview last week. "But being a representative for the county for so long, I know a lot of the issues."

Henden, who's run unsuccessfully for county commissioner three times and state legislature twice as a Republican, has nonetheless remained active in politics. He was elected to one term on the North Kitsap School District board of directors, is currently part of the committee opposing NKSD's bid for a capital levy during the November election, and was part of instigating the widely followed arrest, criminal charging and resignation of former NKSD superintendent Laurynn Evans last spring, after she was caught removing campaign signs. He's the longtime owner of an electrical contracting company, giving him a perspective on labor issues and how to promote business growth in the county.

"I still think I have something to offer," Henden said last week. "It's a different perspective, and a new set of ideas. It's a tough race, but I'm still going to do it."

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A focus on how Kitsap will grow, and handle issues of growth

A focus for the county's board of commissioners -- which will see a new representative elected to replace Charlotte Garrido this November as well -- has been adopting an updated comprehensive plan, the document that guides residential development and more through zoning policy. Commissioners, after a two-year process, have endorsed an option from among several alternatives that is slated to be approved in December, with policies that generally focus future development of unincorporated Kitsap County into urban centers like Silverdale, East Bremerton and Kingston, in an effort to preserve forests or agricultural areas from intense residential growth. It's an attempt to balance the need for housing, which influences the cost as well, with a desire for environmental protection and compliance with the state's Growth Management Act.

Rolfes said her vote on the comprehensive plan was to help guide development toward more urban centers but preserve what she called "flexibility" for builders, so single-family homes can still be built while also offering incentives for townhomes, for example, or lowering the minimum parking standards in some place to allow projects with higher density to pencil out.

"I see our comprehensive plan, that 20-year vision, as a choice we're making to stop spreading the sprawl with the best tool available to preserve rural areas and quality of life that people enjoy," Rolfes said.

She said the goal for the coming year, after the comp plan is approved, is to focus county planning efforts on central Silverdale, including the area surrounding the mall as well as Old Town, near the Dyes Inlet waterfront, and develop guidelines for tree preservation when development projects are permitted, particularly in neighborhoods with mature trees.

Henden said he's never been a supporter of the state's Growth Management Act, which was approved in 1990, but he acknowledges how the law pushes development in what are known as "urban growth areas." He said he'd like to see more single-family homes, stemming from an opinion is most young families still desire them and more available lots would help bring down prices. But Henden also recognizes a need for setting aside more room for county parks and said the shortage, especially in North Kitsap, is something he'd advocate for. He particularly pointed toward the need for a regional sports facility in North Kitsap, similar to South Kitsap Regional Park or the fairground complex in Central Kitsap, so his grandkids won't play on the same limited number of baseball fields that Henden did as a kid.

His interest in parks drew his attention over the past year to the county park at Point No Point, where access to the popular beach has been limited since a berm outside Hansville was breached in December 2022. Patrons still must park in a remote lot and make a walk down Point No Point Road due to sandbags still blocking the route, a process he says he'd push back against if elected.

"This doesn't make any sense," Henden said of the process that may reopen the road next year, "and I would have done things differently."

One roads project both candidates see as a top priority in the district is the coming changes near Kingston, where planning for Highway 104 improvements near the ferry terminal, including a ferry waiting areas to help solve the longtime headaches when lines get backed up, are ongoing. Rolfes said her connections with state-level politics will help Kitsap remain in communication with the planning, as the road is a state project that will intersect with county roads. Henden said he's in favor of the work going on there, and pointed toward the stretch of Highway 3 near the Hood Canal bridge, another place where backups can confound drivers, as something he'd make an issue.

Changes in county permitting, but criticized as too late

Both candidates acknowledged they've heard consistent complaints about Kitsap County's Department of Community Development, specifically the amount of time needed for building permits to be issued. Henden said he's heard of permitting slowing down businesses or restaurants that want to open, and Rolfes acknowledged the department hasn't always been responsive enough -- but fixes have been in the works during her tenure and set to begin Jan. 1.

Rolfes said the commissioners have worked on "deep reforms" with DCD, which is currently without a director. Interviews following a national search are set to being this month, she said, to get a replacement hired. The changes coming in 2025 include adding five or six new permit specialists, revamping the permit application process, and offering innovations like pre-approved designs to build accessory dwelling units on a property. She said quickly responding to applicants will be a priority, in hopes "to make the system more customer service friendly."

"Right now is not the time to be lean, because we need to get these permits out," she said.

But Henden, who agreed with Rolfes that the county needs to prioritize employee retention in that department by looking at wages, said concerns go back far longer than when the current commissioners saw this as a need. Because the reforms aren't adding to the county budget -- the department itself brings in revenue through permit fees and was able to tap reserves -- Henden said the length of time in making changes is "not a money issue, it's a will issue."

His attitude toward permitting comes from what Henden says is a need to focus on a better climate for businesses, which in turn would help stabilizing county finances and help address other needs. He said making consistent rules would be a priority, as would incentives for companies looking to relocate away from the I-5 corridor, phrasing his message as "Kitsap County is a good place to do business."

Background, traits that matter to county voters

Rolfes points to projects she's been involved with at the state level that should directly impact Kitsap's economy -- funding a major renovation at West Sound Tech in Bremerton, where students learn skilled trades, or the coming plans to vastly expand Olympic College's capability for health care degrees at its Poulsbo campus. She said her ability to connect state agencies with local providers helped lead to land preservation near Eglon that will become a park, or a apartment building in Kingston that was preserved for affordable housing thanks to a grant Housing Kitsap was able to apply for.

"It's easily translatable experience," she said of the shift from Olympia to an office in Port Orchard, where the county commissioners are based.

Henden said that although he's running as an independent candidate, in terms of party affiliation, he's still a conservative who's honed, and even moderated, he says, his views over years of paying close attention to government to ensure voters can trust him.

"What matters is I get to serve the community with ideals that fit," Henden said. "Mix it up, see if that helps."

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: North Kitsap's county commissioner race draws 2 candidates