By David Nelson from the Kitsap Sun

I arrived late, but unsurprisingly for that kind of an event the speeches were still going. I found a spot in the shade just as Cary Bozeman started his remarks. He said he was going to tell a familiar story. I turned to look at Joe Morrison, the director of Kitsap Economic Development Alliance standing at my right next to the glass walls of the new southern tower of the Marina Square development, and Joe smirked back, and mouthed the word “Bellevue.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” I whispered back, and turned back to watch the man of the hour, a former mayor of Bremerton and current Port of Bremerton commissioner, enter his comfort zone, talking about public works and leadership from a podium in front of a group of well-wishers.

The speech he gave was a rundown of Bozeman’s greatest hits, familiar to any of you who’ve been at a fundraiser, grand opening of a public project or celebratory event where he’s spoken during the more than 20 years he’s been part of civic life in Bremerton and Kitsap County. It retells the genesis of the 21-acre Bellevue Downtown Park he was instrumental in creating as mayor there in the 1980s, his involvement as being one of the first leaders to welcome girls to what is only now known as the Boys & Girls Club, his recap of the infrastructure developed in Bremerton with federal dollars brought along by longtime Rep. Norm Dicks — including a downtown tunnel, park and major facelift along Pacific Avenue where it borders the shipyard, and, of course, the Norm Dicks Government Center itself.

The former mayor was speaking at an event that honored all that work with a plaque featuring his name, likeness and some bureaucratic language about vision, set in the plaza between two new apartment towers with a wonderful view over the Harborside Marina and Sinclair Inlet. Bozeman now joins Dicks as the second recent sitting politician this city has recognized by bestowing his name a public spot. (And he’s the third notable individual, if you count the christening of the Marvin Williams Center while that native son was still playing in the NBA).

We don’t like to wait around for retirements, I suppose.

It isn’t characteristic of Bozeman to wait around either, whether you’ve agreed with him or not. I started at the Sun as he was finishing his first four-year term as mayor, in 2006. I distinctly remember a morning coffee klatch at a shop that used to neighbor our newsroom, where some city fathers well past their era in office and in control poo-pooed how much money was being sunk into a downtown that sorely needed it. I also remember business owners in other parts of Bremerton wondering why downtown got flowering baskets of fuchsias and petunias, a favorite touch of Bozeman’s, instead of their business district. (The program eventually did branch out and continues to this day.)

On Tuesday, as Joe and I and a few dozen others listened, Bozeman recalled a conversation with Gary Sexton, his right-hand man to get things done during those mayoral years. “Spend it,” Bozeman said he told Sexton when the tunnel project was already running over well budget and a request came for an addition that added a nice touch both men found important. Turned out to be an investment that, like a lot of other big items at the time, seems like it paid off.

I apologize if I make it sound like Bozeman’s bravado was showing, because much of the reminiscing was spent naming others involved. Patty Lent was in the crowd, his successor as mayor who saw the former Westpark site completely redeveloped during her time in office, for example, and the very plaza we stood on was completed on the watch of current Mayor Greg Wheeler, who also spoke Tuesday. The Port of Bremerton, Kitsap Transit, the Navy, state legislators and everyday citizens have also had a hand in bringing to completion the “vision” Bozeman is now being credited with.

I’ve covered Bozeman’s career rather than been a partner on any of these projects, and I’ve observed how the man leads. Two things always have always stuck with me: He’d write and mail a note to someone every day. I’ve been on the receiving end a few times. It reminds me that each day he took time to think about someone else. The second is a memory of his former office at the Port of Bremerton building at Bremerton National Airport, from when he was the port’s CEO. At one end was his desk, and at the other end was a large whiteboard filled with a list of his ideas. Some were accomplished, others were pie-in-the-sky. In his Tuesday speech, I should note here, he also took time to point out the projects that failed. It was never lost on me that Cary didn’t keep his big ideas to himself. Any colleague, employee or visitor could literally see what the man was dreaming about. How often do you do that?

My gut tells me that Bozeman’s experience in Bellevue, particularly the success of turning a parcel of school district property into Downtown Bellevue Park, emboldened his ambition. It’s why he tells that story so often. That influenced the rest of his career, and how he acted on it has impacted this community and specifically downtown Bremerton.

I have a hard time looking out 20 years, whether in my personal life or in thinking about what will happen in Kitsap County. Will we still see homeless encampments? Still be stuck in Gorst traffic every day? Miss ferries routinely because the boat is broken or the line too long? Will we save room for parks in the neighborhoods being built at breakneck speed? Will my kid be able to afford a house in one of those neighborhoods?

I’m too busy to dream about the answers because there’s so much to do each day. But Cary Bozeman is someone who nudges me to at least try.

David Nelson has been editor of the Kitsap Sun since 2009. Contact him at david.nelson@kitsapsun.com.