NELSON: Who is the candidate?

On November 2, 2010 we will arrive at our designated polling location, we'll be handed a ballot and we'll vote. As an alternative, some will vote via absentee ballot. In a perfect world, the best qualified candidate will win. We do not have a perfect world however, and the only candidate on the ballot for the County Commissioner seat in District 2, Jai Nelson, is not qualified to hold this position.

The ethics and values of our elected candidates are of huge importance to me and I'd like to think are to others as well. I am deeply troubled when candidates misrepresent themselves or their credentials, and Jai Nelson has done exactly that.

• Jai Nelson has repeatedly indicated pertinent experience through business ownership. I expect to see that business registered with the Idaho Secretary of State as an Assumed Business Name and in good standing; however that is not the case. Studio J Interior Design is not registered with the state and therefore is not a legal business entity. Idaho Code Section 53-504 requires registration of an assumed business name as of 12/31/98 and reads, "...Any person who proposes to or intends to transact business in Idaho under an assumed business name shall, before beginning to transact business, file with the secretary of state a certificate of assumed business name...." .

• Jai Nelson has made reference to serving as a general contractor, and again, I expect to see either her name or business registered as such with the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licensing (IBOL); however, that is not the case. Perhaps she was referring to the permits she obtained for construction on her own property? That does not make her a general contractor.

• Has she paid the Kootenai County business property tax required of all business owners? No!

I hope that others are as concerned about these issues as I am because Kootenai County deserves better than this. How in the world can we think that she is qualified to help run our county if she is evidently not running a legally registered business and misrepresenting her qualifications? A person with ethics and values doesn't behave this way and therefore should not be voted into office.

Ethics and experience weigh heavier than empty words and misrepresentation.

Please vote this November and please make the right choice for Kootenai County. Join me in writing Rick Currie in as County Commissioner, District 2.

NANCI CURRIE

Harrison

(I am not related to Rick Currie)