Silverdale voters have dramatic change of heart

"What a difference a couple of months make.A ballot measure to incorporate Silverdale appeared headed for a 20-point defeat after the first round of votes were counted Tuesday.Incorporation was failing by a margin of nearly 700 votes out of 3,753 cast. Voters wishing to remain unincorporated cast 2,244 votes (59.79 percent), while those wishing to incorporate cast 1,509 votes (40.21 percent).That is a huge turnaround from the first incorporation election in November, 1999. That election was ruled invalid after discrepancies were found with more than 50 ballots. It failed by just five votes.This time around, in an all-mail election, voters didn't equivacate.Ballots counted Tuesday included only those received by the Kitsap County Auditor's Office by Monday night. Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn expects another 800-1,000 ballots before certifying the election Feb. 11. A reversal of fortunes this time (in the November election, incorporation was ahead on election night before falling to a wave of late absentee ballots) is almost impossible.The only remaining question is whether 60 percent of voters are against incorporation. If the no campaign reaches that benchmark, Silverdale incorporation can't be placed on the ballot again for at least three years.For more information on the election, visit www.wa.gov/kitsap."

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