Kraft seeks Lakes Highway District subdistrict 2 seat

Running a highway district, according to Chris Kraft, isn't that different from running a farm.

"You've got to think smart, got to put your priorities in place," he said. "My priority with the road district is service."

Maintenance and quality service at a tight budget are the goals Kraft is espousing in his campaign for subdistrict 2 seat of the Lakes Highway District.

Kraft, a Hayden farmer and retired maintenance man for the district, said he respects the changes that the current officials have made to accommodate limited funding.

But all the cutbacks might be necessary, he said.

For instance, Kraft questions the district relying more on in-house staff to handle engineering for projects, he said.

"I think that maybe some of that engineering should've gone out to bid, and maybe beat the price that we're paying," Kraft said. "Everybody's got to produce."

To keep a cap on spending, he added, Kraft wants to focus on keeping up current equipment rather than replacing them.

"To have good equipment, that doesn't mean new equipment," he said. "I'm a tight old farmer. I believe in maintaining your equipment. If you can maintain it and put a little money into it, it's better than buying a new one every year."

He plans to keep the same staff, Kraft added, and would like to improve communication between crew members and administration.

"They've got to be able to feel comfortable with going to the administration and let them know what the problem is," he said. "In the years I worked there, that has gone on the wayside."

Kraft worked as a maintenance man for 27 years for the district before retiring last May.

Prior to his work with the district, he said, he installed underground utilities across the West for a Rathdrum company called CK Inc.

He still works as a farmer, he said, and raises cattle, harvests hay and does a little logging.

He and his wife, Linda, have two grown children, he said.

Kraft was born and raised in Kootenai County.

"I've seen roads go from muddy paths to pretty good roads," he said. "I'd like to see them stay as pretty good roads."

Kraft calls himself a conservative, but said he isn't running with a specific party for the May elections.

He isn't planning for any vast transportation projects, he said.

He just wants to ensure no one is ever snowed in, he said, that nobody has to stay home because the roads are too icy.

"Just the services that are important for roads," Kraft said. "Whatever road you're riding on is the most important road to you."