Community benefactor and former mayor Dwight Sutton (WHO-038)

In this 46-minute podcast conversation, we meet Dwight Sutton, who came to Bainbridge Island in 1971 and has since served our community in uncountable ways. He shares his insights about what makes for a great community, and why community values matter.

He explains what initially drew him to Bainbridge Island, and how he initially commuted daily to his work as director of the Virginia Mason research center and as a faculty member of the University of Washington Medical School. And he offers many stories and anecdotes about the history of our island from the 1970s to the present.

Dwight reflects on the gratification of supporting local organizations. And, he tells stories about life as a City Council member in the 1990s and as our City's mayor from 1997 through 2001.

Dwight is an engaging story teller, and he shares with us some of his fondest memories about what makes Bainbridge such an engaging community. But he also has a couple of anecdotes about local events when we weren't at our best.

Among Dwight's stories in this podcast -- mostly about Bainbridge at its best (but a couple of instances otherwise) -- are:

the odd case of the 1970s ferry commuter with a portable typewriter; early campaigns since the 1980s to preserve open space; the history that led to the founding of IslandWood; efforts to preserve our farming traditions; positive and negative attitudes of local residents toward City government; what happened on the City Hall commons after the 9/11 attack; big anxieties and the subsequent success of the City's proposed traffic circle; and examples of islanders avoiding the cynicism affliction and achieving community successes.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters